Identification of groundwater potential zones of Visakhapatnam Urban area using integrating multi criteria evaluation with geographical information system

Abstract

Groundwater forms very little quantity when compared to the total water available on the earth. Therefore it is very vital for all living beings especially for human beings. Visakhapatnam, one of the fastest growing industrial city, is situated on the East Coast of India between longitudes E83o11' 30" and 83° 22' 16" and latitudes. N17° 39' 16" and 17° 45' 58". The present study is aimed to evaluate the groundwater occurrence using Remote sensing and GIS. Remote sensing data interpretation of visual and digital images gave the immediate information about surface features. From this information the groundwater potential zones are identified. The present study used IRS-IC (March 99) and ID (November 99) LISS-III digital data for comparative land use and land cover categorization and hydrogeo-morphological features identification and lineament study. The layers created from Remote sensing data and available ancillary data for index overlay operations for identification of groundwater potential zones in the study area using GIS.