Natural groundwater recharge estimation using multiple methods combined with an experimental study

Abstract

Due to increasing human settlements, agricultural development, and economic activities, the extraction of groundwater is increasing. The over-exploitation of aquifers has become a cause for concern within the last century due to these developmental activities and the accurate estimation of sustainable yield from aquifers is very important. Assessing natural aquifer recharge is one of the key challenges in determining the sustainable yield of aquifers. In this study, an integrated model using the SCS-CN method, remote sensing, and a Geographic Information System (GIS) is developed for estimating natural aquifer recharge for the recharge area of the sub-basin of the Vellar river basin, Tamil Nadu, India. Also, actual infiltration measurements were conducted and an infiltration-based model was developed to compute natural groundwater recharge and compare it with empirical methods. On average, the recharge is 17% of the rainfall for the recharge area.