Delineation of groundwater potential zones in Sathyavedu area, Chittoor District (Andhra Pradesh), South India, using geospatial technologies

Assessment of the potential zone of groundwater recharge is extremely important for the protection of water quality management in groundwater systems. Groundwater potential areas are identified with the help of RS and GIS techniques. In this study, a standard methodology was used for the determination of groundwater potential areas by using the integration of RS and GIS techniques. The composite maps (geology, geomorphology, lineaments, slope, soils and drainage) were generated using GIS tools. The accurate information to obtain the above parameters can be considered for the identification of the groundwater potential areas. The maps are generated using satellite data (LISS-III IRS-P6) and Survey of India (SOI) toposheet of scale 1:50,000. Then, it was integrated with Arc GIS Software for the evaluation of various geomorphic units and demarked the groundwater availability. The groundwater potential zones are classified into five categories like very poor, poor, moderate, good and excellent. In overall, the study area predominately is occupied with denudation hills and pediment slope and contains the less groundwater potential. This groundwater potential information will be useful for the effective identification of a suitable location for the extraction of groundwater.