Groundwater potential mapping and natural remediation through artificial recharge structures in Vellore District, Tamil Nadu, India using geospatial techniques

The main objective of the present study is groundwater potential mapping and natural remediation through artificial recharge structures in Vellore District, Tamil Nadu, India using geospatial techniques. Water is an important essential renewal resource, without which life cannot exist on the earth. Water scarcity problems are increasing day by day throughout the Vellore District due to the increasing needs for various applications like domestic, agriculture and industries. Unpredictable variation in the occurrence of precipitation with respect to space and time creates droughts and floods in many places. In the Vellore District delineating groundwater potential zones with the aid of geo-spatial techniques and suggestion of suitable sites and structures for artificial recharge of ground-water is much important. According to research, the area of groundwater occurrence in good water is 382 km2, moderate water is 736.3 km2, and 18 villages have ‘poor’ occurrences of 586.7 km2, which require immediate attention to improve the scenario through artificial recharge. Because rainfall recharge dilutes ion concentrations in groundwater during the NE and SW monsoon seasons, the study recommends implementing artificial recharge techniques such as constructing a percolation tank across a Palar River stream, constructing a check dam across a Palar River channel, and introducing injection wells to place fluid underground into porous geologic formations in this region.