Assessment of groundwater potential in Tirukalukundram block of southern Chennai Metropolitan Area

Groundwater is an important resource in all major urban centres. Continuous extraction leads to degradation and depletion in the water quality which can be protected by selecting proper groundwater recharging techniques. The present study aims to determine the groundwater potential by integrating the remote sensing and geographic information system which helps to identify the locations which are in critical stage and immediate steps can be taken to recharge the groundwater. Thirukalukundram block of Kanchipuram district in Tami Nadu, India, has been chosen as study area. To demarcate the groundwater potential zone, surface attributes such as geomorphology, land use/land cover, contour map, drainage density and sub-surface attributes such as lineaments and soil maps are created using satellite imageries, toposheet, soil and geomorphology data of the study area. The thematic maps prepared using geographic information system and weights have been assigned to the attributes by considering the influence on the storage capacity of groundwater. Four categories of groundwater potential zones such as below low, low, moderate and high have been classified. From the analysis, 5% along the coastal plain area covers high groundwater potential zone, 20% of the area towards north-west and south-west hold moderate groundwater potential. 60% of the total area hold low groundwater potential zone which are located towards south-west direction. 15% of the study area contains below low groundwater potential zone in parts of south-west direction. This study helps to identify the suitable locations for extraction and recharge of groundwater.