Evaluation of Spatio-temporal Dynamics of Groundwater Recharge and locating Artificial Recharge Structures for Watershed in Upper Bhima Basin, Pune, India

Water scarcity is now a global issue and to tackle the same at the regional level is of utmost importance. While handling the issue of water scarcity at the regional level, it is necessary to identify the probable causes of water scarcity. This study is aimed at studying the dynamics of groundwater recharge due to change in water levels. In this study, firstly spatial distribution is studied from the water level fluctuation field data for the pre and post monsoon period during 2017. Secondly, the temporal distribution of groundwater recharge is determined from the data of Groundwater Surveys and Development Agency's key observation wells, for the period from 1996 to 2018. From the evaluation of groundwater recharge dynamics, a map for groundwater recharge is generated, using Geoinformatics through spatial analysis. Based on groundwater recharge dynamics, an artificial recharge zone map is generated. The result indicates falling trends in groundwater during summers and also a similar tendency in average levels of groundwater, which is caused due to the tremendous use of unsustainable groundwater. The findings also indicate the continuous withdrawal of groundwater for agricultural and other purposes, the decreasing trend in rainfall, slope, Geology, changes in land use are attributed to the continuous declining trend of groundwater recharge and subsequently groundwater level, as the situation will be irreversible if necessary steps for artificial recharge activities are not taken immediately. Hence, artificial recharge structures are suggested for tackling the critical issue of water scarcity.