Assessment of Groundwater Recharge Through Rainfall and Water Harvesting Structures in Jamka Microwatershed Using Remote Sensing and GIS

Water harvesting works had been conducted at Jamka micro-watershed of Saurashtra region of Gujarat in India for augmenting artificial groundwater recharge in hard rock aquifers of the semi arid region. In present study groundwater recharge of Jamka micro-watershed was estimated. The natural groundwater recharge through rainfall in the study area was estimated using empirical equations and the artificial groundwater recharge through water harvesting structures which was estimated using remote sensing and GIS. The area under submergence due to water harvesting structures is estimated using remote sensing images. The groundwater recharge in study area was also estimated using water table fluctuation method and compared with total recharge through rainfall and water harvesting structures. The natural groundwater recharge through rainfall in the study area was found varying from 11 to 16 per cent of annual rainfall. The total groundwater recharge in the study area was estimated 390.29 ha m, in which the contribution of recharge through water harvesting structures was about 38.53%; this revealed that the water harvesting structures played an important role in increasing the groundwater recharge in the region.