Environ Earth Sci

DOI 10.1007/s12665-015-4474-8

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Characterization of groundwater potential and artificial recharge

sites in Bokaro District, Jharkhand (India), using remote sensing
and GIS-based techniques
Ipsita Satapathy1 • Tajdarul H. Syed1

Received: 26 May 2014 / Accepted: 27 April 2015

Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015

Abstract Anarchic use of groundwater for domestic and attributed to the predominance of favourable geology and
industrial purposes poses a major threat to the rapidly de- geomorphologic features in the study area.
pleting groundwater resources of India. In the present
study, an integrated remote sensing and GIS-based Keywords Groundwater potential
Artificial recharge

methodology is used for the mapping of groundwater po- Hardrock aquifer
Remote sensing
Geographic
tential zones and identification of suitable sites for artificial information system
Multi-criteria analysis
SCS-CN
recharge in the Bokaro District of Jharkhand, India. The runoff
Sensitivity analysis
study area is classified into three different zones, namely
‘poor’, ‘moderate’ and ‘good’ in terms of its groundwater
potential. Only small isolated patches in the eastern and Introduction
central parts of the district have been identified to have
good groundwater potential with a sustainable yield of Groundwater is an important dynamic resource of fresh-
87.18 MCM (million cubic metres). The percent area water supporting the needs of nearly 1.5–2.8 billion people
coverage of regions with good groundwater potential is globally (Morris et al. 2003). In India, groundwater meets
only *5 %. The sustainable yield for areas characterized the domestic requirement of more than 80 % of the rural
to have moderate groundwater potential is 962.11 MCM, population, besides fulfilling the requirements of *50 %
while those with poor potential are estimated to be 53.31 of irrigated agriculture (Kumar et al. 2005; Mall et al.
MCM. Overall, the results show that 95 % of the study area 2006). Hence, the prospects of accessible groundwater play
have moderate to poor groundwater potentiality. Sensitivity a major role in the socioeconomic development of a region.
analysis, using effective weight and variation index, re- Dependency on groundwater, for food and energy pro-
veals slope, drainage density and soil as the parameters duction, to meet the requirements of a growing population
with the greatest influence on the computation of ground- and enhancement of human well-being has intensified over
water potential index. The present study also focuses on the the years (Giordano 2009). Stress on groundwater re-
identification of suitable artificial recharge sites, using sources is further compounded by physical alteration of
multi-criteria analysis technique, for augmenting the de- landscape due to urban and industrial development (Pani-
pleting groundwater reserves of the area. The results reveal grahi et al. 1995). As a result, groundwater resources in
that 84.95 % of the study area is either highly or moder- major parts of India are confronted with the consequences
ately suited for artificial recharge, which is primarily of extreme overexploitation and associated unremitting
decline in the water table (Rao 2003). The current decline
in groundwater availability in India (Kumar et al. 2005)
necessitates the formulation of sustainable groundwater
& Tajdarul H. Syed management plan through proper assessment of the avail-
[email protected]
able resources.
1
Department of Applied Geology, Indian School of Mines, Assessments of groundwater potential have been per-
Dhanbad 826004, Jharkhand, India formed using several field-based techniques utilizing geo-

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 Environ Earth Sci

electrical, seismic and basic well surveys (Rao and Jugran (Agarwal et al. 2013b) and multi-criteria analysis (Ha-
2003; Sahu and Sahoo 2006). These methods are both cost jkowicz and Collins 2006). Previously, the weighted
and manpower intensive (Sander et al. 1996). In addition, overlay index method has been implemented in several key
basic well surveys are constrained by the number and dis- groundwater provinces in India (e.g. Srivastava and Bhat-
tribution of observations wells, which are also typically tacharya 2006; Ravishankar and Mohan 2005).
unsystematic. An increasing realization of the limits of The study area, Bokaro District, is one of the few highly
traditional surveys has led to the introduction of remote industrialized regions in the state of Jharkhand. While
sensing and GIS-based techniques which are ideal for first- regulations on the availability of freshwater for industrial
hand, holistic and regional assessment of groundwater po- purposes are likely to impede socioeconomic development,
tential. Remote sensing and GIS-based methods can be excessive groundwater withdrawal for industrial purposes
implemented over varied spatial extents and do not involve can have serious human and ecosystem impacts. As a re-
the utilization of an expensive array of instruments (Jha sult, freshwater resource of the study area is continuously
et al. 2007; Chowdary et al. 2009) and at times can also be challenged by water scarcity issues attributed to over ex-
merged with conventional field surveys (Kumar et al. 2009). ploitation of groundwater (CGWB 2009). The lack of
Integrated use of satellite image interpretation tech- surface water bodies and groundwater loss due to mining-
niques and GIS are crucial to increase the accuracy of the related activities add complexity to the already depleting
results and to reduce the limitations of dependence on any groundwater resource of the study area. Therefore,
single theme or layer of information (Mohanty and Behera groundwater potential mapping and aquifer replenishment
2010; Rao and Jugran 2003). As a result, these methods through artificial recharge are imperative for long-term
have been used extensively for groundwater potential sustenance of groundwater resources in the study area.
mapping (e.g. Krishnamurthy et al. 1996; Pradeep 1998; However, the groundwater resource potential of this study
Saraf and Chowdhury 1998; Sankar 2002; Khan and Mo- area has not been fully characterized. Here, we utilize
harana 2002). These methods have been successfully im- multi-platform hydrogeologic data in a numerical ranking
plemented in soft sediments (e.g. Shahid et al. 2000) as system, called weighted index overlay analysis, for the
well as hard rock terrains in India (e.g. Khan and Moharana delineation of groundwater potential zones and identifica-
2002; Prasad et al. 2008; Rekha et al. 2011). While the tion of suitable sites for artificial recharge. This method
majority of these studies had focussed on the delineation of takes into consideration the relative importance or contri-
groundwater potential zones, others have concentrated on bution of each individual parameter and class belonging to
the identification of suitable sites for artificial recharge each category of geospatial information (Nag 2005).
(Ghayoumian et al. 2005; Anbazhagan et al. 2005) and Uniquely, the assessed groundwater potentiality of the
water-harvesting structures (Kumar et al. 2008). study area is subjected to a sensitivity analysis to reveal the
Severe groundwater depletion can worsen social parameters with the greatest influence. Subsequently, these
inequity by increasing water costs and limiting the access GIS-based assessments are corroborated with independent
to individuals with deeper or larger capacity wells. This estimates of sustainable yield of groundwater and runoff
can provoke an expensive and inefficient cycle of well estimates obtained from the SCS-CN model.
deepening with subsequent lowering of regional ground-
water levels leading to severe, essentially irreversible, ef-
fects. Remediation through artificial recharge is often an Study area
important step for the restoration of depleting groundwater
resources (Chowdhury et al. 2009; Sophiya and Syed Bokaro District lies between the latitudes 23°240 2700 N–
2013), amongst many others. However, it is extremely 23°570 2400 N and longitudes 85°340 3000 E–86°290 1000 E, cov-
important to identify suitable sites, prior to artificial ering an area of 2861 sq km in the State of Jharkhand in
groundwater recharge initiatives, to make meaningful India (Fig. 1). It is represented in Survey of India topo-
contribution towards the revival of groundwater resources. graphical map no. 73I/73E (1:250,000). It has eight admin-
This is particularly relevant in the context of the study area, istrative blocks, namely (1) Chas, (2) Gomia, (3) Nawadhi,
since the majority is underlain by crystalline rocks with (4) Bermo, (5) Peterwar, (6) Kasmar, (7) Jaridih and (8)
negligible primary porosity. While the majority of the Chandankiyari. The area experiences humid to subtropical
studies involving identification of suitable sites for artificial climate with three distinct seasons that include summer,
recharge have utilized weighted index overlay methods monsoon and winter. Monsoon sets in the middle of June and
(Saraf and Chowdhury 1998; Agarwal et al. 2013b), some lasts till the end of September. July, August and September
proposed the use of mathematical models such as analytical are the most humid months. The humidity during the winter
hierarchy process (Nagaraju et al. 2012), analytical net- season is about 60 %. Summer stretches from March to June
work process (Agarwal et al. 2013a), SCS-CN method during which the maximum temperature varies from 42 to

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Environ Earth Sci

85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E

24°0'N 24°0'N

23°50'N 23°50'N

23°40'N 23°40'N

Legend
Gomia
23°30'N Peterwar 23°30'N
Jaridih
Bermo
Kasmar
Chas 0 25 km
23°20'N 23°20'N
Chadankiyari
Nawadih

85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E

Fig. 1 Map of the study area along with the names of the blocks located within the District of Bokaro, Jharkhand, India

46 °C and humidity remains the lowest during these months. of groundwater potential zones and (2) identification of
The average rainfall in the district is 1363.6 mm/year. suitable sites for artificial recharge. The methodology is
Maximum rainfall occurs in the Chandankiyari block and also summarized by a flowchart diagram shown in Fig. 2.
the lowest in Kasmar and Nawadhi blocks.
Major parts of the study area are underlain by rocks such Identification of groundwater potential zones
as granite and granite gneiss. Besides these rocks, quartzites,
mica schists and phyllites are also found. The oldest rock of The base map for this study is prepared from the Survey of
the area is unclassified meta-sedimentaries, which comprise India topographic sheet (No: 73E/73I at 1:250,000 scale).
quartzite and quartz schists. Three-fourths of the area is Additionally, Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) satellite
occupied by rocks of Chotanagpur granite gneiss. Coal, image of the study area, accessed from United States
shale and sandstone deposits are found in parts of Bermo and Geological Survey (http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov), has been
Gomia blocks of the Bokaro District. A detailed geological extensively used for the generation of thematic maps/lay-
succession of the study area is presented in Table 1. ers. Thematic layers of geomorphology, geology, linea-
ment density, drainage density and land use/land cover
maps are prepared using the Landsat TM satellite image
Data and methodology utilizing the TM 1-3-5 and 1-2-3 band composites. The
Landsat image is visually interpreted to map the geomor-
The data and methods used in the current study are dis- phologic units and land use/land cover with the help of
cussed under two major sub-categories, which are also the standard characteristic image interpretation elements such
primary objectives of this study. These are (1) delineation as tone, texture, shape, size, pattern and association. The

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Table 1 Geological succession of the study area

Age Series Lithology

Upper carboniferous to middle Jurassic Gondwana supergroup Sandstone, shale, grit, coal
Upper proterozoic Amphibolite, epidiorite
Middle to upper proterozoic Chotanagpur granite gneiss Granite and granite gneiss, micaschist and phyllite
Lower to middle proterozoic Unclassified metasediments Quartzites

Fig. 2 Flowchart showing the Data Collecon

methodology used in the present
study
Data input (Scanning, manual entry)

Data conversion (Digizaon, using ArcGIS Soware)

Data base Creaon

Spaal database
Aribute database

Land sat 7 satellite image and Water level and rainfall data
SRTM DEM

Themac layers preparaon

Data Integraon

Spaal distribuon of groundwater potenality Spaal distribuon of suitable arficial recharge sites

Model Validaon

slope map and digital elevation model (DEM) of the area C and D) according to the texture of soil and its infiltration
are prepared using the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission capacity. All these thematic layers are ranked from 1 (very
(SRTM) DEM (accessed from Consultative Group on In- poor) to 5 (very good) depending on their suitability to
ternational Agricultural Research (CGIAR) consortium for store/transmit groundwater; these rank values are also il-
Spatial Information (CGIAR-CSI) (http://srtm.csi.cgiar. lustrated in Table 2. For the weighted index overlay ana-
org)). Rainfall data used in this study is acquired from the lysis, each of the individual thematic layers and its
Directorate of Economic and Statistics (Department of characteristic feature classes are assigned weights and
Planning and Development (http://desjharkhand.nic.in) ranks on the basis of their relative contribution towards the
over a period of 10 years (2003–2013). The rainfall map is enhancement of groundwater potential; these are illustrated
prepared using the inverse distance weighting (IDW) in Table 3. A quantitative evaluation of the different fea-
method. The hydrogeological soil map is prepared by using tures in a given thematic layer is integrated to analyse the
a base soil map of the study area obtained from the Na- groundwater potential of the study area by computing the
tional Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning groundwater potential index (GWPI) using the weighted
(NBSS&LUP; http://www.nbsslup.in/.). Further, the soil index overlay technique in a GIS platform following
map is classified into four hydrogeological soil types (A, B, Eq. (1) (Mukherjee et al. 2012). Subsequently, the

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Table 2 Rank assignments for

Rank Condition for potential mapping Condition for artificial recharge
features in a thematic layer
based on their relative 1 Very poor Unsuitable
importance towards estimating
groundwater potential and site 2 Poor Least suitable
suitability for artificial recharge 3 Moderate Moderately suitable
4 Good Suitable
5 Very good Most suitable

groundwater potential of the study area is classified into index into categories such as ‘unsuitable’, ‘least suitable’,
three classes, namely ‘poor’, ‘moderate’ and ‘good’, with ‘moderately suitable’, ‘suitable’ and ‘most suitable’, with
GWPI values ranging from 2 to 4: respect to its suitability for artificial recharge.

GWPI ¼ Geow Geor þ Geomw Geomr þ Ldw Ldr þ DW DR

þ Sow Sor þ Slow Slor þ Rw Rr þ LULCw LULCr Estimation of runoff: SCS-CN method
þ DEMw DEMr ;
For the construction of the runoff map, runoff values are
ð1Þ
estimated using the SCS-CN method. This SCS-CN
where GWPI is the groundwater potential index; Geo the method, developed by the soil conservation service of the
geology; Geom the geomorphology; D the drainage den- US Department of Agriculture, involves the integration of
sity; Ld the lineament density; Slo the slope; LULC the soil group, land use classes and antecedent moisture con-
land use/land cover; R the rainfall; DEM the digital ditions (Ramkrishnan et al. 2009; Kadam et al. 2012).
elevation model; the subscript r is rank of feature in a Rainfall amount and runoff curve number are two major
theme and w the weightage of themes. GWPI is a dimen- inputs in the SCS-CN method. The AMC (antecedent
sionless entity. moisture condition), which represents the wetness of a
particular area, is determined using the total rainfall of the
Identification of suitable sites for artificial recharge last 5 days. According to Gupta and Panigrahy (2008),
AMC is classified as AMC 1(lowest runoff potential,
Artificial recharge is often an effective approach for re- rainfall \35 mm), AMC II (average condition, rainfall 35–
plenishing the depleting groundwater resources. However, 52.5) and AMC III (highest runoff potential, rainfall
the effectiveness of initiating artificial recharge of [52.5 mm). Here, we used AMC class II. The curve
groundwater is primarily dependent on hydrological and number has a range from 0 to 100 and was obtained from
geological factors that are interrelated and spatially USDA (1986). While a lower CN refers to low runoff
heterogeneous. Hence, it is extremely important to identify potential, larger numbers indicate greater runoff potential.
suitable sites before undertaking any major artificial The values of CN used in this study are enlisted in Table 5.
recharge initiatives. Hence, identification of suitable sites The curve number is related to soil moisture retention (S)
for application of appropriate artificial recharge techniques and runoff (Q) by the following equations (Ramkrishnan
is critical for effective recharge of the aquifer. et al. 2009; Kadam et al. 2012):
In this study, identification of suitable sites for artificial
recharge is carried out by taking into consideration thematic S ¼ ð1000=CNÞ 10; ð2Þ
maps of geomorphology, geology, slope and land use/land .
cover. Each class of feature identified in the individual Q ¼ ðP 0:2SÞ2 ðP þ 0:8SÞ for P  0:2S; ð3Þ
layers are assigned rating values on a scale of 1 (Unsuitable)
Q ¼ 0 for P \ 0:2S; ð4Þ
to 5 (Most suitable) based on their contribution towards the
suitability for artificial recharge of groundwater (Table 2). where Q is the runoff in inches; P the rainfall in inches and
Subsequently, an integration of the information contained in S the soil moisture retention in inches.
each of the layers and their respective classes is obtained by In this study, the curve number is weighed with respect
using the weighted index overlay method (Saraf and to the watershed area,
Chowdhury 1998) for the identification of sites suitable for
artificial recharge of groundwater. The methodology
X
CNW ¼ ðCNi  Ai Þ=A; ð5Þ
adopted is exactly similar to what is represented in Eq. (1)
except that the thematic maps and their weights used for this where CNw is the weighted curve number; CNi the curve
purpose are different; see Table 4 for details. Finally, the number from 1 to any number n; Ai the area with curve
study area is classified on the basis of the computed overlay number CNi and A the total area.

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 Environ Earth Sci

Table 3 Weights and ranks assigned to various thematic layers and their classes used for delineating groundwater potential zones (based on
Mukherjee et al. 2012)
Layers Class Categories Rank Weightage

Geology (Geo) Unconsolidated Good 5 20

Consolidated Poor 1
Semi-consolidated Moderate 3
Geomorphology (Geom) Pediment Poor 1 10
Alluvial plain Moderate 3
Cuesta Very poor 1
Denudational hill Good 4
Inselberg Good 4
Pediplain Moderate 3
Water body Very good 5
Lineament density (Ld) Very low Very poor 1 15
Low Poor 2
Moderate Moderate 3
High Good 4
Very high Very good 5
Drainage density (D) Very low Very good 5 15
Low Good 4
Moderate Moderate 3
High Poor 2
Very high Very poor 1
Land use/land cover (LULC) Barren area Very poor 1 5
Cultivated land, settlements/mining area Moderate 3
Forest area Very good 5
Urban area Poor 2
Water body Good 4
Slope (Slo) Nearly level Good 4 10
Very gentle slope Moderate 3
Gentle slope Poor 2
Moderate to steep slope Very poor 1
Soil (So) A Very good 5 10
B Good 4
C Moderate 3
D Poor 2
Rainfall (R) Very good Very good 5 10
Good Good 4
Moderate Moderate 3
Low Poor 2
Very low Very poor 1
Digital elevation model (DEM) Nearly level (79–238) Very good 5 5
Less moderate (238–319) Good 4
Moderate (319–430) Moderate 3
High (430–616) Poor 2
Very high (616–975) Very poor 1

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Table 4 Weights and ranks

Layers Class Categories Rank Weightage
assigned to various thematic
layers and their classes used for Geo Unconsolidated Most suitable 5 20
delineating artificial recharge
sites (based on Saraf and Consolidated Unsuitable 1
Chowdhury 1998) Semi-consolidated Moderately suitable 3
Geom Pediment Unsuitable 1 40
Alluvial plain Moderately suitable 3
Cuesta Unsuitable 1
Denudational hill Moderately suitable 3
Inselberg Suitable 4
Pediplain Moderately suitable 3
Water body Most suitable 5
LULC Barren area Unsuitable 1 10
Cultivated land, settlement/mining area Least suitable 2
Forest area Least suitable 1
Urban area Moderately suitable 3
Water body Suitable 4
Slo Nearly level Suitable 4 30
Very gentle slope Moderately suitable 3
Gentle slope Least suitable 2
Moderate to steep slope Unsuitable 1

Table 5 Curve numbers used for the study area performed by removing one or more parameters using the
Land use category Soil group
following equation (Babiker et al. 2005):

A B C D
S ¼ ððV=N V 0 =nÞ=VÞ  100; ð6Þ

Urban 88 91 93
where S is the measure of sensitivity (variation index);
Forest 55 70 77
V and V0 are unperturbed and perturbed potential values;
and N and n are the number of data layers used to compute
Cultivated/settlement 98 98 98 98
V and V0 . While the original groundwater potential index is
Barren 79 86 89
referred to as the unperturbed potential value, those esti-
Water body 100 100 100 100
mated using a fewer number of variables are considered as
perturbed values. The analysis is performed by removing
Sensitivity analysis one or more variables at a time. Higher (lower) values of
sensitivity measure (S) indicate greater (lesser) sensitivity
Sensitivity analysis is the study of how the uncertainty in of the variable towards the final output. The values of
the output of a model or system can be apportioned to variation index can be positive or negative, depending on
different sources of uncertainty in its inputs. (Babiker et al. the values of the potential index. Positive S value indicates
2005; Rahman 2008). Such analysis is often key to un- that the removal of a parameter reduces the value of the
derstanding the dominant process controls. While the use perturbed potential index and hence contributes positively
of multi-parameter indices facilitate reduced dependence towards the value of the unperturbed index. Similarly,
on individual parameters, it is often criticised because of negative values of S indicate that exclusion of certain pa-
the data redundancy and subjectivity associated with the rameters increases the value of GWPI, whereas inclusion of
selection of weights and ratings. While sensitivity analysis that leads to a decrease in the value of GWPI (Gogu and
has been primarily used to evaluate the accuracy of vul- Dassargues 2000; Hammouri et al. 2012).
nerability indices such as DRASTIC (Saha and Alam 2014; The single-parameter sensitivity analysis is carried out
Hasiniaina et al. 2010), it has been rarely used for water to analyse the influence of each of the nine variables on the
quality analysis (Machiwal et al. 2011). Sensitivity analysis final output of groundwater potential index. In this proce-
is performed by the following two methods, which are (1) dure, the effective weight of each parameter is compared
map removal sensitivity analysis (Lodwick et al. 1990) and with the theoretical weight. This analysis confirms that the
(2) single-parameter sensitivity analysis (Napolitano and parameter with higher effective weight is more sensitive
Fabbri 1996). The map removal sensitivity analysis was compared to those with lower effective weight. In this

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 Environ Earth Sci

study the effective weight of each parameter is calculated Geomorphology factor

using the following equation (Babiker et al. 2005):
W ¼ ðPw Ps Þ=V  100; ð7Þ Geomorphology reflects the various landforms and struc-
tural features that play a significant role in land resource
where W is the effective weight of each parameter, Pr and mapping, watershed studies and terrain evaluation. Since
Pw are the rating value and weight of each parameter and many of these features are favourable for the occurrence of
V is the overall potential value. groundwater, the groundwater condition varies for different
geomorphologic features and hence classified in terms of
groundwater potentiality. In this study, the geomorphology
Results and discussion map is prepared from Landsat (TM) image. Figure 3b
shows the major geomorphologic units of the study area.
Factors related to groundwater potential The major geomorphologic features of the study area in-
and artificial recharge clude pediment, alluvial plain, cuesta, denudational hill,
inselberg and pediplains. A detailed description of the
The contribution of each of the factors used in the com- geomorphological units is also listed in Table 6. Regional
putation of groundwater potential (Table 3) and identifi- slope of the area, which is towards east, controls the
cation of suitable sites for artificial recharge of alignment of the tributaries of River Damodar. While the
groundwater (Table 4) are discussed in detail. Gomia block on the western side of the district has the
highest topography, Chas and Chandankiyari blocks on the
Geology factor east are dominantly low lying. The average elevation of the
undulating pediplain ranges from 200 to 350 m above MSL
The rock types of an area significantly affect its ground- (mean sea level).
water potentiality (Shaban et al. 2006). Knowledge of To analyse the geomorphologic controls on the hydro-
lithostratigraphy is crucial to understand the nature and geology of the study area, groundwater levels obtained
distribution of the water-bearing capacity (Fetter 1994) of from dug and bore wells are analysed across each
the study area. Spatial distribution of the different geolo- geomorphologic unit within the study area. This has been
gical units of the study area is shown in Fig. 3a. For the done since groundwater level is not only a good indicator
present study, the geology map is adopted from the annual of groundwater potential, but is also supportive of the
report of the Central Ground Water Board, Government of recharge potential of the area. Table 7 lists the values of
India (CGWB 2009). The majority of the area, about three- groundwater level, averaged over a period of 10 years, for
fourth of the entire study area, is underlain by granitic pre- and post-monsoon periods for each of the geomor-
gneiss and other metamorphic rocks. The remaining part is phologic units identified within the study area and obtained
occupied by sandstone, shale and coal. In the study area, from the Central Ground Water Board, Government of
the hard rocks are mainly fractured, so it has some India. Results reveal that the deepest pre-monsoon
groundwater potential. A thin strip of sedimentary rocks, groundwater levels are observed in a cuesta (12.63 mbgl)
seen almost along the course of River Damodar, could have and the shallowest in water bodies (5. 74 mbgl). Accord-
a relatively higher groundwater potential. Based on dif- ingly, the largest fluctuations between pre- and post-mon-
ferent properties of rocks, the study area is classified into soon water levels are noted in pediments (7.10 mbgl) and
three categories: (1) consolidated formation, (2) semi- the least in water bodies (2.95 mbgl). Depending on the
consolidated formation and (3) unconsolidated formation. pre- and post-monsoon water level fluctuation, each
Lithologic characteristics also impart significant control geomorphologic feature has been assigned a rank between
on the recharge of groundwater. The geology theme has 1 and 5. The geomorphology theme has been used for both
been assigned an influencing factor of 20 % for both ob- objectives of the present study. This theme has been
jectives of the present study. Each data class of the geology credited with a weight of 10 % for groundwater potential
theme is also ranked on a scale 1–5. Consolidated rock mapping and 40 % for identification of suitable artificial
formations are generally massive and prohibit infiltration recharge sites.
of rainfall into the subsurface, thereby maximizing the
possibility of runoff generation. On the contrary, uncon- Slope factor
solidated and semi-consolidated rock formations contribute
significantly as far as groundwater potential and recharge Slope is the change in elevation of a surface and is ex-
are concerned. As a consequence, consolidated and un- pressed as a percentage or in degrees (Elewa and Quddah
consolidated rock formations have been designated with 2011). The slope of an area plays a significant role in the
the lowest and highest ranks, respectively. partitioning of rainfall into infiltration and runoff. While

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Environ Earth Sci

(a)
85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E (b) 85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E

24°0'N 24°0'N 24°0'N

23°50'N 23°50'N 23°50'N

23°40'N 23°40'N 23°40'N

Legend
Pediment
23°30'N 23°30'N 23°30'N
Alluvial plain
Legend Cuesta
Consolidated Denudational
l hill
Inselberge
Semiconsolidated 0 25km
23°20'N 23°20'N
Pediplain 0 25km
Unconsolidated Water body 23°20' N

85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E 85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E

85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10' E 86°20'E 86°30'E

(c) 85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E
'
86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E (d)

24°0'N 24°0' N 24°0'N

23°50'N 23°50'N 23°50'N

23°40'N 23°40'N 23°40'N

23°30'N 23°30'N Legend 23°30'N

Legend Barren area
Nearly level Cultivated land
Very gentle Forest area
0 25km Urban area 0 25km
Gentle
23°20N
' 23°20'N Wa ter body 23°20'N
Moderate to steep

85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E 85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E

Fig. 3 Thematic maps of Bokaro District depicting the a geology, b geomorphology, c slope and d land use/land cover

Table 6 Geomorphologic units in the study area

Geomorphologic Description about units Groundwater
units condition

Cuesta A hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side and a steep slope on the other side is known as cuesta Poor
Pediment It is a plain of eroded bedrock developed in between mountain and basin areas Poor
Pediplain Due to continuous erosion, pediments converge to form pediplains Moderate to
good
Inselberg These are isolated mounds rising above the general parts of a pediment Moderate
Alluvial plain These are composed of alluvial deposits of sand, silt and clay. Alluvial plains are found on the eastern Moderate to
side of the study area near the Damodar River course good
Denudational hill Due to active process of weathering, mass wasting and erosion, denudational hills are found. These are Moderate
found in the central part of the study area
Water body These are surface water bodies in the district Good

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Table 7 Groundwater levels across various geomorphologic features identified in the study area
Geomorphic features Pre-monsoon water level (mbgl) Post-monsoon water level (mbgl) Water level fluctuation (mbgl)

Pediment 10.41 3.31 7.10

Pediplain 8.95 3.60 5.35
Cuesta 12.63 5.77 6.86
Denudational hill 9.65 4.75 4.90
Inselberg 9.45 4.88 4.57
Alluvial plain 7.6 2.41 5.19
Water body 5.74 2.79 2.95

the slope is directly proportional to the amount of runoff, it can facilitate recharge of groundwater by reducing surface
is inversely proportional to infiltration of surface water to runoff, it may also have the potential to deplete ground-
groundwater storage (Rao and Jugran 2003). Steeper slopes water storage through root water uptake and
lead to rapid movement of water during periods of rainfall evapotranspiration.
and thus limits the likelihood of surface water infiltrating
into the subsurface. The slope map of the study area, pre- Lineament density factor
sented in Fig. 3c, is produced using the SRTM DEM. On
the basis of slope, the study area is divided into four Lineaments have considerable importance for groundwater
classes, which are ‘nearly level (0–2 %)’, ‘very gentle potential mapping, since they act as primary controls of the
slope (2–5 %)’, ‘gentle slope (5–9 %)’ and ‘moderate to movement and occurrence of groundwater in hard rock
steep slope ([9 %)’. Only the northwestern portion of the terrains (Sreedevi et al. 2005). Joints and fractures in a rock
study area falls under ‘moderate to steep slope’ class, while increase its secondary porosity and permeability to enhance
the rest, which comprises a major part of the study area, the water-holding capacity and also enable efficient
falls under the ‘nearly level’ category. recharge of aquifers. Following the procedure of Moore
The slope is also a common factor for groundwater and Waltz (1986), lineaments in the study area (Fig. 4a) are
potential mapping and identification of artificial recharge extracted utilizing false colour composite (FCC) of the
sites. The weightage stipulated for this theme is 10 % for Landsat 7 TM image. The lineaments shown in the map
groundwater potential mapping and 30 % for identification (Fig. 4a) are all natural, linear or curvilinear, features
of artificial recharge sites. Since areas with slope enhance which are observed in the satellite image regardless of their
the potential for accumulation of rainfall and thereby origin. To avoid erroneous representations of non-geolo-
recharge of groundwater, it has been given the highest gical linear features, the lineament map is cross-checked
rank. However, steeper slopes generate greater runoff and with the topographic map of the area. Since the concen-
reduces the scope for surface water infiltration. For this tration of the lineaments, i.e. the number of lineaments per
reason, areas with steep slope are given the lowest rank for unit area, is more pertinent towards the hydrogeologic
both the purposes. properties of the subsurface material, the lineament density
map (Fig. 4a) is prepared from the lineament map. For this
Land use/land cover factor purpose, a systematic method adopted by Sener et al.
(2005) is implemented. In this map higher density indicates
This factor includes the distribution of residential areas and high potentiality and lower density indicates poor poten-
vegetation cover (Shaban et al. 2006). In the present study, tiality for groundwater. Accordingly, lineament density is
land use/land cover map (Fig. 3d) is prepared on a divided into five classes, with values ranging from ‘‘very
1:250,000 scale from Landsat-7 TM image using image low’’ (0–5.24 km/km2) to ‘‘very high’’ density
interpretation elements such as tone, texture, drainage, (40.58–77.37 km/km2) and assigned ranks of 1–5,
structural fabric and relief found in the image and by respectively.
comparing it with the topographic map of the area. In this
process, land use/land cover of the study area is classified Drainage density factor
into five broad categories (e.g. barren area, forest area,
urban area, cultivated land with some settlement and water The drainage pattern of the study area shows a dominantly
body). For both the objectives land use/land cover is as- dendritic drainage system. The Damodar River flows from
signed the lowest percent of weight proportion compared to west to east almost through the middle of the study area.
the other factors. While certain types of land use/land cover Konar and Jamunia are the two major tributaries of the

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Environ Earth Sci

(a) 85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E (b) 85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E

24°0'N 24°0'N 24°0' N

23°50'N 23°50'N 23°50' N

23°40'N 23°40'N 23°40' N

Legend
Very low
Legend
23°30'N 23°30'N Very low 23°30' N
Low
Moderate Low
High Moderate
0 25 km
Very high High 0 25 km
Very high
23°20'N 23°20'N 23°20' N

85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E 85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E
85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E 85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E
(c) (d)
N
24°0'N 24°0' N 24°0' N

23°50'N 23°50' N 23°50' N

23°40'N 23°40'N 23°40' N

Legend
23°30'N Legend 23°30' N Very good 23°30' N
A Good
B Moderate
C 0 25 km Low 0 25 km
23°20'N D 23°20'N Very low 23°20' N

85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E 85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E

Fig. 4 Thematic maps of Bokaro District depicting a lineament density, b drainage density, c soil and d rainfall

Damodar River. Minor tributaries of the Damodar River the second highest weightage of 15 % alongside lineament
present within the study area are Isri, Gobai, Kadwa and density.
Khanj. The drainage system of the study area is primarily
confined to weak zones such as joints, fractures and faults. Hydrogeological soil group factor
For the present study, the drainage map is prepared from
Landsat TM image and topographic map at the 1:250,000 According to the information from the National Bureau of
scale. Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, the soil map of the
Drainage density, which is defined as the unit length of study area (Fig. 4c) is digitized and reclassified into four
stream per unit area, is a manifestation of the nature of the groups (A, B, C and D). Three soil orders, namely Entisols,
surface material and hence a primary control on ground- Inceptisols And Alfisols, are observed in Bokaro District.
water recharges (Edet et al. 1998). Accordingly, imper- Alfisols is the dominant soil order, which occupies around
meable surfaces would have higher surface runoff, since 62 % of the total area, followed by Inceptisols and Enti-
infiltration rate will be low, and thus greater drainage sols, occupying about 21.4 and 12.7 % of the study area,
density (Yeh et al. 2009). The drainage density map respectively. These soil orders are reclassified into four
(Fig. 4b) of the study area is prepared from the drainage groups based on its infiltration capacity and texture. Soil
map and classified into five different zones varying from group A is characterized by high infiltration rate and hence
low to very high density. Here, drainage density is assigned low runoff potential, so it has been given the highest rank,

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 Environ Earth Sci

whereas group D soils have low infiltration rate and thus weight of 5 % for the construction of groundwater poten-
high runoff potential and given the lowest rank. Thus group tiality map.
A soils have greater groundwater potential in comparison
to group D soils. Similarly, other soil groups B and C have Groundwater levels
been ranked according to their contribution and capacity to
hold water. The soil type theme has been assigned an in- To validate the authenticity of the groundwater potential
fluencing factor of 10 % for the computation of ground- zones delineated above, following Eq. (1), observations of
water potential. groundwater level from dug and bore wells in the study
were investigated. For this purpose, observations of water
Rainfall factor level obtained from groundwater wells in the study area,
spanning a period of 2002 to 2011, are utilized to produce a
Rainfall has the greatest contribution to natural ground- 10-year average of pre-monsoon and post-monsoon water
water recharge (Mukherjee et al. 2012) and a key factor in level map using the IDW technique (Hutti and Nijagunappa
assessing the groundwater potential of an area. A higher 2011). This water level data was collected from the Central
rate of rainfall increases the water availability for the Ground Water Board (G. Roy 2013, personal communi-
process of infiltration. For this study, a rainfall map cation). Average depth to groundwater levels for the pre-
(Fig. 4d) is prepared from station data, averaged annually and post-monsoon periods are shown in Fig. 5b, c respec-
over a period of 10 years (2003–2012) using the IDW tively. The eastern side and some central portion of the
technique. The rainfall map is classified into five groups study area have the shallowest groundwater level (6 mbgl
from very good to very low. The map reveals that the in pre-monsoon and 3 mbgl in post-monsoon). However,
Chandankiyari block in the eastern side of the study area major parts of the study area have groundwater levels
records the highest amount of rainfall (1933 mm), while greater than 9 mbgl (pre-monsoon) and 5–6 mbgl (post-
the Kasmar block on the southwestern side experiences the monsoon).
lowest amount of rainfall (899.56 mm). This thematic layer
is also ranked on a scale 1–5 and has been given a weight Runoff estimates
of 10 % for groundwater potential mapping. Since the
amount of rainfall directly influences the amount of water Runoff potential is often considered as a vital indicator of
available for infiltration into the subsurface, the lowest and groundwater recharge potential of an area. Thus, it is
highest rainfall amounts are assigned the lowest and essential for proper planning and execution of any artificial
highest ranks, respectively. recharge initiatives. Based on the runoff generated using
the SCS-CN method, the study area is classified into five
Digital elevation model (DEM) factor classes from very low to high. The spatial distributions of
these classes are illustrated in Fig. 5d. It is evident from
The altitude of the area above the mean sea level also has a Fig. 5d that *7 % of the study area has high runoff
vital role in groundwater recharge. While terrains with low (30–52 inches/year), 21 % moderate runoff (27–30 inches/
altitude and gentle topography enhance the potential of year), 61 % low runoff potential (15–27 inches/year) and
surface water to infiltrate into the ground, thereby con- *11 % very low runoff (8–15 inches/year).
tributing towards the enhancement of groundwater poten-
tial, high-altitude topography augments the runoff potential Groundwater potential of the study area
thereby reducing the rate of rain water infiltration (Solmon
and Quiel 2006; Rao 2006). For the current study, the The groundwater potential map of the study area is pre-
digital elevation map is prepared from SRTM (CGIAR- pared, utilizing various layers of hydrogeologic and
CSI) (http://srtm.csi.cgiar.org) data. The DEM (Fig. 5a) geomorphologic information, on the basis of the weighted
illustrates the spatial distribution of elevation within the index overlay method discussed earlier. The groundwater
study area classified into five categories, namely ‘nearly potential map of the study area (Fig. 6a) reveals three
level’ (79–238 m) ‘less moderate’ (238–319 m), ‘moder- distinct categories representing ‘good’, ‘moderate’ and
ate’ (319–430 m), ‘high’ (430–616 m) and ‘very high’ ‘poor’ groundwater potential. These zones demarcate areas
([616 m) and ranked from 1 to 5 according to the height where the subsurface has varying degrees of potential to
above mean sea level. The eastern side of the study area store water and also indicates the availability of ground-
has the lowest elevation (79–238 m above MSL) values, water. The percent area distribution of each of the above-
while the northwestern side has the highest. In the present mentioned categories of groundwater potential are 5, 68
study, the DEM theme has been given an influencing and 27 %, respectively.

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Environ Earth Sci

85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E 85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E
(a) (b)
24°0'N 24°0' N 24°0' N

23°50'N 23°50'N 23°50'N

23°40'N 23°40' N 23°40' N

23°30'N Legend Legend 23°30'N

23°30'N
Very high 6 mbgl
High
6-7 mbgl
Moderate
Less moderate
0 25 km 7-8 mbgl
8-9 mbgl 0 25 km
23°20'N Nearly level 23°20' N >9 mbgl 23°20' N

85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30' E 85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30' E
85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E 85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30' E
(c) (d)
24°0'N 24°0' N 24°0' N

23°50'N 23°50'N 23°50' N

23°40' N 23°40' N 23°40' N

23°30'N 23°30'N Legend 23°30' N

Legend
0-3 mbgl High
3-4 mbgl Moderate
0 25 km
4-5 mbgl Low
23°20'N 5-6 mbgl 0 25 km 23°20' N Very low 23°20' N

85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30' E 85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30' E

Fig. 5 Thematic maps of Bokaro District depicting a DEM, b pre-monsoon groundwater level, c post-monsoon groundwater level and d runoff

Results show that most of the areas have moderate recharge. In addition, overexploitation in some of the areas,
groundwater potentiality. On the contrary, some portion of including those underlain by sedimentary rocks within the
the Chandankiyari block and parts of the northern sides of district effectuates poor groundwater potential in spite of
Bokaro District are observed to have good groundwater its greater water-holding capacity.
potential. Higher potentialities of these areas are driven by Since rainfall is the key input for groundwater storage
a dominantly flat terrain and the presence of lineaments. variations, depth to water level varies considerably be-
Both these factors effectively enhance the rate of surface tween the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon periods. It has
water infiltration compared to other parts of the study area. been observed that in areas with good potential, ground-
Even though major parts of the study area are underlain by water levels on an average vary between 6 mbgl (pre-
rocks, which are almost impermeable, secondary porosity monsoon) and 3 mbgl (post-monsoon), whereas in those
and permeability induced by lineaments and fractures with poor potential, groundwater level ranges from 9 mbgl
render some parts of the study area to have moderate to (pre-monsoon) to 5 mbgl (post-monsoon). This is intuitive
good groundwater potential. Major portions of northwest- since areas with good groundwater potential have the ca-
ern side and parts of the central Bokaro District have poor pacity to retain the availability of groundwater and there-
groundwater potential due to unfavourable geology and fore maintain lower magnitudes of groundwater level
high slope. These factors are primarily responsible for fluctuation. These results establish the accuracy of the
producing high surface runoff and low groundwater groundwater potential delineated in this study.

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 Environ Earth Sci

(a) 85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E (b) 85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E

24°0'N 24°0'N 24°0'N

23°50'N 23°50' N 23°50'N

23°40'N 23°40' N 23°40'N

Legend
23°30'N 23°30' N 23°30'N
Unsuitable
Legend
Least suitable
Moderate suitable
Poor
0 25 km Suitable 0 25 km
23°20'N Moderate 23°20'N
23°20' N Most suitable
Good

85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E 85°40'E 85°50'E 86°0'E 86°10'E 86°20'E 86°30'E

Fig. 6 Map showing the spatial distribution of a groundwater potential and b suitable sites for artificial recharge in the study area

Quantitative assessment of groundwater potential Results of the sensitivity analysis

A quantitative assessment of the exploitable dynamic In spite of the proven effectiveness of multi-parameter
groundwater reserve of the study area is estimated by the indices, the contribution of the individual parameters used
following equation (Hutti and Nijagunappa 2011; Chowd- in these indices is often highly debated. The sensitivity
hury et al. 2009): analysis of the computed groundwater potential index is
Re ¼ Dh  A  S; ð8Þ analysed here both in terms of the number of significant
parameters and their effective weight.
where Re is the average annual dynamic exploitable/uti-
lizable groundwater reserve; Dh the 10 years average Map removal sensitivity analysis
groundwater fluctuation between pre-monsoon and post-
monsoon periods; A the area of the groundwater potential Map removal sensitivity analysis is implemented in two
zone; and S the storage coefficient of the aquifer. For this stages. In the first stage, the sensitivity of GWPI as a result
purpose, data on existing wells are overlaid on the of removing one parameter at a time is analysed. This
groundwater potential map and Re is estimated for each of analysis defines that higher (lower) values of mean varia-
the different groundwater potential zones. Results show tion index (S) indicate greater (lesser) degree of sensitivity
that the average annually exploitable groundwater reserve towards the removed parameter. Table 8 presents the
is 87.18 million cubic metre (MCM) for areas with good statistics of variations in the potential index (S) as a result
groundwater potential. Re estimates for moderate and poor of removing only one parameter at a time. Results reveal
zones are 962.11 MCM and 53.312 MCM, respectively. that the GWPI is most sensitive to the slope and drainage
Thus, the total amount of average annually exploitable density parameters (mean variation index = 17.3 %).
groundwater reserve is conspicuously lower for the poor Although to a lesser degree, computation of GWPI shows
zones, compared to the other zones, despite its sig- significant sensitivity towards the removal of the geology
nificantly larger spatial extent. The moderate zone has (15.83 %) layer. This, however, is probably because of the
conspicuously greater exploitable groundwater reserve relatively higher theoretical weight assigned to the geology
amongst others, which is inferable from the significantly layer.
larger spatial coverage. Note that this exploitable reserve In the second stage, more than one parameter is removed
of groundwater can be considered as sustainable yield for for the quantification of their sensitivity towards the com-
the respective zones, since these are the volumes of putation of GWPI. Table 9 shows the values of the sensi-
groundwater replenished annually. However, this is a tivity measure obtained due to the removal of one or more
first-order approximation; detailed field pumping tests parameters at a time. According to this analysis, the least
should be done to determine sustainable yields at indi- average variation index resulted after removing the ge-
vidual well sites. ology layer (15.83 %). As more data layers are excluded,

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Environ Earth Sci

Table 8 Statistic of map removal sensitivity analysis as the most effective parameters in the computation of
Parameters removed Variation index (%)
GWPI, with an average effective weight of 17.3 %
(Table 10), which is also in agreement with the results
Min Max Mean SD from map removal sensitivity analysis. Table 10 reveals
Slo 2.99 27.78 17.33 3.09 the obvious differences in the effective and theoretical
D -2.17 32.08 17.3 6.07 weight of individual layers. While these differences are
Geo -6.89 43.46 15.83 5.53 most prominent for geology, lineament density and soil
So 4.76 30.3 14.04 4.09 parameters, the effective and theoretical weights are almost
Geom 2.47 23.26 10.32 3.26 similar in the case of geomorphology, rainfall and LULC.
R 2.6 22.73 9.85 3.72 It is also important to note that geology has an effective
Ld -5.77 34.69 8.31 5.43 weight that is significantly lower than the assigned weight.
DEM 1.41 13.89 7.19 1.83
Results discussed here emphasize the importance of ob-
LULC 1.28 15.15 6.21 2.06
taining precise and detailed data on certain parameters,
such as slope, drainage density and geology, for accurate
SD standard deviation estimation of GWPI.

the value of the average variation index increases sequen- Suitable sites for artificial recharge in the study area
tially, thereby highlighting the significance of each data
layer in the quantification of groundwater potential of the Artificial recharge is often the most viable approach to
area. However, most importantly, certain variables are revive depleting groundwater resources. However, the ef-
found to be more sensitive than the others as evident from fectiveness of any artificial recharge initiative is heavily
the non-linear increase in the values of average variation dependent upon the identification of suitable recharge sites.
index with respect to the number of parameters used. For In this study, identification of suitable artificial recharge
example, removal of drainage density and slope parameter sites is performed by weighted overlay technique utilizing
resulted in the largest change (17.3 %) in the value of the key hydrogeologic parameters such as geology, geomor-
variation index, while the removal of the geomorphology phology, land use/land cover and slope. In this method,
layer produced a change of only 3.9 %. Significantly large each of these parameters are assigned weights in accor-
values of average variation index also confirm the impor- dance with their contribution towards suitability for artifi-
tance of each thematic layer and are therefore crucial for cial recharge (Table 4). Finally, these thematic layers are
determining the groundwater potential of the area. integrated and a composite map is produced to illustrate the
varying suitability of the study area for artificial recharge
Single-parameter sensitivity analysis (Fig. 6b). The resulting map of the study area has been
classified into five classes, such as ‘unsuitable’, ‘least
While the importance of parameters is quantified by map suitable’, ‘moderately suitable’, suitable and ‘most suit-
removal sensitivity analysis, the significance of the weights able’ artificial recharge sites. Spatially, each of these
assigned to each layer is assessed by single-parameter classes cover 0.53, 12.5, 15.45, 69.5 and 2.02 % of the
sensitivity analysis. This analysis compares the theoretical study area, respectively. Due to the presence of deep forest
weight, i.e. the weight assigned, of a layer with its real cover and high slope, the northwestern side of the study
weight. Results demonstrate the drainage density and slope area is identified to be ‘unsuitable’ to ‘least suitable’ for

Table 9 Statistics of map

Parameters used Variation index (%)
removal sensitivity analysis
using multiple parameters at a Min Max Mean SD
time
Geom, Ld, D, LULC, Slo, So, R, DEM -6.89 43.46 15.83 5.53
Ld, D, LULC, Slo, So, R, DEM -9.52 47.92 19.75 5.87
D, LULC, Slo, So, R, DEM 2.7 59.32 28.04 7.07
LULC, Slo, So, R, DEM 11.11 71.43 45.35 6.71
Slo, So, R, DEM 19.44 80 51.57 6.79
So, R, DEM 47.22 85.71 68.89 5.49
R, DEM 65.91 92.96 82.96 4.12
DEM 86.11 98.11 92.81 1.83
SD standard deviation

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 Environ Earth Sci

Table 10 Statistics of single-parameter sensitivity analysis physiographic and geologic factors that govern the move-
Parameters Theoretical weight (%) Effective weight (%)
ment and occurrence of groundwater to provide spatially
distributed information on groundwater potential and suit-
Min Max Mean SD ability for artificial recharge to augment the limited
Slo 10 2.99 27.78 17.31 3.09 groundwater reserves of the study area. Results indicate that
D 15 4.17 31.91 17.3 6.05 certain portions of the alluvial plains, especially in the
So 10 4.76 30.3 14.04 4.09 northern and eastern part of the district, possess good
Geom 10 2.44 23.26 10.33 3.26 groundwater prospects. This region, which is about 5 % of
R 10 2.6 22.73 9.85 3.72 the study area, is underlain by lithology with high porosity
Geo 20 5.33 30.3 9.46 4.94 and permeability. The presence of lineaments leads to the
Ld 15 3.75 32.61 8.31 5.23 development of moderate groundwater potential which
DEM 5 1.41 13.89 7.19 1.83
covers about 68 % of the study area. Localized lineaments
LULC 5 1.28 15.15 6.21 2.06
allow surface water to infiltrate through weak zones; other-
wise, around 27 % of the study area has poor groundwater
SD standard deviation potential zone. The slope of an area controls the amount of
surface runoff; in case of very gentle slope, surface runoff is
artificial recharge. Overall, only two small regions of the less so the chances of infiltration are more. Hence, the
study area, with favourable hydrogeological conditions for combination of low upland area and the occurrence of high
groundwater recharge, are identified as the most suitable lineament density yield a very good groundwater potential
sites for artificial recharge. These sites are located within for the Chandankiyari block in the eastern side of the district.
the Nawadih block and along the northern edges of the The average annually exploitable groundwater reserve for
Chandankiyari block. areas with ‘good’, ‘moderate’ and ‘poor’ groundwater po-
The artificial recharge sites in the study area, as identi- tential is estimated to be 87.18 MCM, 962.112 MCM and
fied by remote sensing and GIS techniques, are validated 53.312 MCM, respectively. Sensitivity analysis, performed
by computing runoff estimates for the study area. Areas to evaluate the influence of parameters on groundwater po-
with high groundwater recharge potential allow rapid in- tential mapping, demonstrates significant contributions from
filtration of surface water generated from rainfall events to each of the parameters used. Results reveal slope and drai-
efficiently recharge the aquifer in the area. Accordingly, nage density to be most sensitive towards the computation of
these areas are characterized by low runoff potential. On groundwater potential index alongside geology and soil
the contrary, areas with low recharge capabilities inhibit characteristics.
infiltration of surface water, thereby generating a greater Due to overexploitation of groundwater, different parts
amount of surface runoff. Hence, surface runoff is often of the study area face critical water scarcity problems.
used to make a first-order assessment of the recharge po- Therefore, implementation of suitable artificial recharge
tential of an area (Anbazhagan et al. 2005). Analysis of the techniques is necessary to augment the attenuating
spatial disposition of areas classified on the basis of runoff groundwater resource of the study area. The suitability of
estimates (Fig. 5d) and that on the basis of suitability for the study area for the execution of such techniques is also
artificial recharge (Fig. 6b) demonstrate that, except for a assessed in this study. In this regard, the study area is
few regions, sites most suitable for artificial recharge co- categorized as ‘unsuitable’, ‘least suitable’, ‘moderately
occur with those having the lowest runoff, while regions suitable’, ‘suitable’ and ‘most suitable’ sites. Due to thick
that are ‘least suitable’ coincide with those having the forest cover and high slope, the northwestern side of the
highest runoff generated. study area is mostly identified as ‘unsuitable’ and com-
prises *0.53 % of the total area of Bokaro District. Major
parts of the study area, *69.5 %, are considered to be
Summary and conclusion suitable for artificial recharge. The moderately suitable
sites, occupying nearly about 15.45 % of the study area, are
mostly characterized by high lineament density with a
The groundwater resource of Bokaro District is mostly greater capacity to hold groundwater. The least suitable
constrained by limited availability, indiscriminate exploita- sites, occupying nearly about 12.5 % of the study area, are
tion for agricultural and domestic purposes and drainage mostly with steep slope and thick forest cover. Overall,
from mining-related activities. Hence, control and regular- only two regions are found to be highly suitable for arti-
ization are crucial for proper utilization of this vital resource, ficial recharge, which comprises only 2.02 % of the total
which in turn underscores the importance of assessing the area of the district. Areas with high to moderate suitability
groundwater potential of the area. This study integrates for artificial recharge are recommended to be used as

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Environ Earth Sci

primary sites for undertaking artificial recharge projects in watershed based modelling. Hydrogeol J 19(3):613–628. doi:10.
the study area. Suitability for artificial recharge is further 1007/s0-011-0703-8
Fetter CW (1994) Applied hydrogeology, 3rd edn. Prentice Hell,
corroborated with runoff estimates computed using the Upper Saddle River, p 691
SCS-CN model. Results reveal that areas with high Ghayoumian J, Ghermezcheshme B, Feiznia S, Noroozi AA (2005)
recharge potential also correspond well with low runoff Integrating GIS and DSS for identification of suitable areas for
estimates and vice versa. The efficacy of the results pre- artificial recharge, case study, Meimeh basin, Isfahan, Iran.
Environ Geol 47(4):493–500. doi:10.1007/s00254-004-1169-y
sented here could be further improved by the utilization of Giordano M (2009) Global groundwater? Issues and solutions. Ann
more rigorous in situ sampling of field data and consid- Rev Environ Resour 34:153–178. doi:10.1146/annurev.environ.
eration of other methods involving more thematic infor- 030308.100251
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