Geological and geomorphological controls

on groundwater occurrence in a hard rock

region

S. P. Rajaveni, K. Brindha & L. Elango

Applied Water Science

ISSN 2190-5487

Appl Water Sci

DOI 10.1007/s13201-015-0327-6

1 23
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Appl Water Sci
DOI 10.1007/s13201-015-0327-6

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Geological and geomorphological controls on groundwater

occurrence in a hard rock region
S. P. Rajaveni1 • K. Brindha2 • L. Elango1

Received: 14 December 2014 / Accepted: 25 August 2015

Ó The Author(s) 2015. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com

Abstract Remote sensing and GIS tools have broadly Introduction

helped hydrogeologists to delineate the groundwater
prospective zones for watershed development and man- In a semi-arid country like India, surface water is not
agement. The origin, movement and existence of ground- available throughout the year for various purposes. Due to
water depends on several factors such as slope, drainage meagre surface water resource, most of the requirements for
density, land use, geology, lineament density and geo- irrigation, industry and domestic purposes are being met
morphology. Based on these, the mapping and identifica- from groundwater. It is therefore essential to ensure the
tion of groundwater potential zones were carried out in a availability of groundwater throughout the year. Of many
part of Nalgonda district, Telangana, India. The regions methods available, remote sensing is one of the techniques
were categorised as high, moderate and low groundwater that can be used for rapid assessment of natural resources;
potential, and they were validated with the groundwater however, it requires validation by field work. With the
levels and yield of wells located in the corresponding advances and availability of satellite images, it is possible to
zones. Extensive possibility for watershed development is indirectly identify the ground conditions through the sur-
possible in 41 % of the total 724 km2 and 46 % of the area face and subsurface features such as topography, land use,
offers moderate options. Any groundwater management drainage, geology and geomorphology.
project implemented in these favourable areas will bring Remote sensing and geographic information system
maximum benefit. Similar studies should be considered (GIS) have proved to be important tools to prepare the
necessary before designing a water resource development thematic maps from satellite images and is also used as a
activity as it will reduce the cost on detailed field visits multi-criteria decision analysis tool (Vittala et al. 2005;
which are time-consuming. Madrucci et al. 2008; Mondal et al. 2008; Javed and Wani
2009; Jha et al. 2010; Dar et al. 2010). Application of
Keywords Groundwater potential zones  Overlay remote sensing and GIS in geology and geomorphology for
analysis  Thematic layers  Nalgonda  Telangana  India quick hydrogeological evaluation has been proved to be
efficient (Pareta and Pareta 2011; Suganthi et al. 2013;
Anbazhagan and Jothibasu 2014; Ndatuwong and Yadav
2014). Interpretation of various features has also been done
by visual method, which is time-consuming and difficult in
areas where accessibility is not possible to humans. To
overcome these constraints, integrating remote sensing and
& L. Elango GIS methods gives more accuracy and reduces the risk of
[email protected]; [email protected]
manual error (Pinder 2002; Prasad et al. 2008; Dar et al.
1
Department of Geology, Anna University, Chennai 600 025, 2011; Jasmin and Mallikarjuna 2011). Another advantage
India is that both discrete and continuous data from primary and
2
International Water Management Institute, Vientiane, secondary sources can be combined and interpreted by this
Lao PDR method (Burrough 1986). Rai et al. (2005), Karunanidhi

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 Appl Water Sci

et al. (2013), Rashid et al. (2012) and Srinivasan et al. IV (IRS P6 LISS IV) images of the year 2008 with a spatial
(2013) complemented remote sensing methods with geo- resolution of 5.8 m by visual interpretation technique.
electrical studies to identify the groundwater prospective Figure 1 shows the steps adopted for this study. For the
zones. Researchers have also used statistical methods verification process, groundwater levels were measured in
(Ozdemir 2011; Machiwal et al. 2011; Manap et al. 2012, forty-two monitoring wells in this area once in 2 months
2013; Pinto et al. 2015) and numerical modelling (Chenini from March 2008 to January 2009 using a water level
and Mammou 2010; Gaur et al. 2011; Ahmad et al. 2011) indicator (Solinst 101). Global positioning system (GPS)
along with GIS for groundwater potential mapping. Ide- was used to measure the topographical elevation at the
ally, GIS is a rapid and cost-effective problem-solving groundwater level measuring location. Further five pump-
platform for identifying groundwater potential zones. If ing tests were also carried out to determine the yield of
this method is complemented with necessary ground wells to validate the groundwater potential zones.
checks, it will be an effective technique in hydrogeological
studies. This has been agreed broadly in groundwater Description of the study area
assessment studies, and several researchers have identified
the groundwater potential zones in various regions by the The study area (Fig. 2) (724 km2) is located in Nalgonda
integration of remote sensing and GIS (Sener et al. 2005; district, Telangana, India. This area is situated at a distance
Varughese et al. 2012; Lone et al. 2013; Narendra et al. of about 80 km ESE of Hyderabad, the capital of Telan-
2013). gana state. Nagarjuna Sagar reservoir is present at the
Nalgonda district in Telangana, southern India, is south-eastern side of the study area. The southern boundary
intensively irrigated, and groundwater (57.2 %) is the is bounded by Pedda Vagu River and the northern
major source of supply for agriculture (CGWB 2007). The boundary is partly bounded by Gudipalli Vagu River. The
groundwater quality of this area has been studied earlier climate in this area is arid to semi-arid. The temperature
(Brindha and Elango 2013a, b; Brindha and Elango 2012; ranges from 30 to 46.5 °C during summer (April–June) and
Elango et al. 2012; Rajesh et al. 2012; Brindha et al. 2011; between 17 and 38 °C during winter (November–January).
Brindha and Elango 2010). In spite of the large-scale use of South-west monsoon occurs during June–September
groundwater in this area, it has not been classified based on resulting in an average annual rainfall of about 600 mm.
groundwater potential and a study of this nature is essential
to sustainably utilise the available groundwater resources
and to meet the growing needs for agricultural, domestic Results and discussions
and industrial activities. Hence, this study was carried out
with an objective to map the groundwater potential zones The quality of a study of this nature will improve
in a part of Nalgonda district with the help of thematic depending on the number of accurate thematic layers that
maps prepared using remote sensing and GIS. The results have been used. Depending on the availability of data and
of this study were validated using the groundwater level resources, this study is limited to and concentrates on the
monitored in these areas. use of slope, drainage density, land use, geology, lineament
density and geomorphological characteristics. Table 1
gives the area covered by various features of a spatial layer,
Data collection and Table 2 gives the ranks and weights assigned to the
features based on literature.
Toposheet was used as a reference for preparing the the-
matic maps. Survey of India toposheets (1:25,000) cover- Slope
ing the study area was used to prepare the base map,
drainage and topographical maps. Geological map of The influence of slope will have a remarkable effect on the
Geological Survey of India (GSI), Hyderabad, was used to infiltration of surface water from the ground. A low slope
identify the different geological features of this area (GSI percentage indicates that the surface water received mainly
1995). This was further updated by ground-truth verifica- because of precipitation will have more time to remain on
tion carried out by geological fieldwork along different the ground surface and percolate into the subsurface. In
traverses across the area in July 2010. Vertical electrical case of highly sloping areas, the run-off is more immediate
sounding (VES) was carried out in 37 locations of the study offering less retention time for the water on the ground
area to understand the geology and also to verify the extent surface and significantly reduces the groundwater recharge
of weathering. Geomorphology and land use of the area potential. As the slope greatly depends on the elevation in
were delineated from the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite an area, to determine this characteristic, the topography
P6 (Resourcesat-1) Linear Imaging Self-scanning Sensor should be known.

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Appl Water Sci

Fig. 1 Methodology adopted

for identification of
groundwater potential zones

Fig. 2 Location of the study area

Topography of the study area delineated from the eastern hemicircle, the Lambapur–Peddagattu and Seripalli
toposheets (1:25,000 scale) comprises of three distinct plateaus and the gently sloping undulating land make up
features. The Nagarjuna Sagar reservoir in the south- the varied topographical characteristics of this area. The

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 Appl Water Sci

Table 1 Area covered under different range of parameters from 2.5° to 80°. For the assessment of groundwater
Parameter Range Area in Percentage
potential zones, this area was classified based on three
km2 ranges of slope (Fig. 3b). The range with lesser slope (0°–
5°) was given a higher rank of 4 as it increases the infil-
Slope 1°–5° 674.5 93.2
tration rate (Lone et al. 2013), whereas a higher slope from
5°–20° 33.9 4.7 20° to 80° was given a low rank of 1 (Bagyaraj et al. 2013).
20°–80° 15.6 2.2
Land use Water body 57.5 7.9 Land use
Waste land 140.3 19.4
Forest 56.5 7.8 The dependence on groundwater especially quantitatively
Built-up 18.5 2.6 is determined by the land use in an area. Figure 4 shows
Agriculture 451.2 62.3 that the land use in this area which comprises of agricul-
Geomorphology Denudational hill 36.6 5.1 tural land (cropland, fallow land and plantation), water
Linear ridge 7.7 1.1 bodies (stream and tank), forest plantation, wasteland (land
Pediments 39.5 5.5 with or without scrub, stony waste, rocky knob and sheet
Pediplain 560.4 77.4 rock area) and built-up area as identified from LISS IV
Water body 11.1 1.5 imagery. Area occupied by different land-use characteris-
Residual hill 10.1 1.4 tics is given in Table 1. Irrigation is mainly (57 %)
Structural hill 48.1 6.6 dependent on groundwater (CGWB 2007) apart from
Valley fill 10.7 1.5 rainfall. The cropping pattern depends on the climatic
Geology Quartzite 22.8 3.2 conditions and availability of water sources. Paddy, sweet
Quartz vein 1.5 0.2 lime, castor, cotton, grams and groundnut are the major
Pink biotite granite 36.4 5.0 crops grown in this area. Majority of the livelihood is from
Migmatite granite 75.4 10.4 agriculture and its allied activities.
Meta-basalt 10.2 1.4 The demarcation of different land use in the study area
Meta-rhyolite 0.6 0.1 was derived from false colour composite (FCC) IRS LISS
Grey biotite granite 557.4 77.0 IV images by visual interpretation techniques (Fig. 4). The
Grey hornblende 10.5 1.5 crop land was identified by light medium red tone and fine/
biotite medium texture; fallow land was identified by medium
Grey biotite gneiss 7.2 1.0 burly wood tone and medium texture; plantation was
Dolerite 2.0 0.3 identified by dark red tone and fine texture, respectively
Drainage density 0–0.75 243.4 33.6 (Lone et al. 2013). These are classified as good potential
(km-1) sites for groundwater prospects (Varughese et al. 2012).
0.75–2.39 345.8 47.8 Water bodies were displayed in black tone and were
2.39–5.08 134.9 18.6 assigned as high potential zones with a rank of 3 (Chipman
Lineament density 0–0.37 468.7 64.7 and Lillesand 2007). Forest plantations had light reddish
(km-1) brown tone and fine medium texture with irregular shape
0.37–1.08 175.6 24.3 and varying size (Kumar et al. 2008). Groundwater
1.08–2.96 79.7 11.0 potential in forest areas was assigned as poor because even
though these areas may have good groundwater recharge,
extreme south-east occupied by the Nagarjuna Sagar the groundwater is not being extracted from this land
reservoir has maximum water level at 180 mamsl. There (Magesh et al. 2012). Wasteland was identified by light to
are several small hills in this area with height ranging from dark bluish tone with coarse texture, and built-up land was
250 to 300 mamsl. The Lambapur and Peddagattu plateaus displayed as light bluish white with fine texture of regular
occur as flat topped hills in the south-east of the study area. shape and size (Lillesand et al. 2007). These areas were
The highest topographical elevation of this area is also assigned low values of 1 for mapping the groundwater
348.1 mamsl and lowest is 169.5 mamsl. The ground sur- potential zones (Table 2).
face generally slopes towards the south-east direction.
DEM was generated from 10-m interval contour of the Geology
topographical map, which is given in Fig. 3a. Slope varied
from 1° to 80° (Fig. 3b), and most parts of the area have Geological mapping serves as a basis for the study of
slope ranging from 1° to 2.5° (Table 1). The south-east and groundwater condition in an area. Particular attention is to
north-west regions of the study area have a slope ranging be paid to the geological units that affect the occurrence,

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Table 2 Ranks and weightages assigned to various thematic maps for delineation of groundwater potential zones
Thematic layer Sub-layers/class Rank Weightage References
(high = 4; of each
low = 1) layer

Slope Low slope (0°–5°) 3 0.1 Jasmin and Mallikarjuna (2011), Mondal et al. (2008),
Medium slope (5°–20°) 2 Bagyaraj et al. (2013), Lone et al. (2013) and Rashid
et al. (2012)
High slope ([20°) 1
Land use Waterbody 3 0.15 Kumar et al. (2008), Lone et al. (2013), Nagaraju et al.
Agriculture 2 (2011), Pandian and Kumanan (2013), Varughese et al.
(2012), Sener et al. (2005)
Wasteland, built-up, forest 1
Geomorphology Water body (reservoir) 3 0.25 Dar et al. (2010), Kumar et al. (2008), Bagyaraj et al.
Valley fill, pediplain 2 (2013), Lone et al. (2013), Pandian and Kumanan
(2013)
Pediments, denudational hill, residual 1
hill, linear ridge and structural hill
Geology Meta-basalt 3 0.1 Jasmin and Mallikarjuna (2011), Kumar et al. (2008),
Quartz vein, grey hornblende biotite and 2 Lone et al. (2013)
grey biotite gneiss
Meta-rhyolite, dolerite dyke, grey biotite 1
granite, migmatite granite, pink biotite
granite and quartzite
Drainage Low density (0–0.75 km-1) 3 0.2 Jasmin and Mallikarjuna (2011), Mondal et al. (2008),
density Moderate density (0.75–2.39 km ) -1
2 Bagyaraj et al. (2013), Rashid et al. (2012)
High density (2.39–5.08 km-1) 1
Lineament Low density (0–0.37 km-1) 1 0.2 Jasmin and Mallikarjuna (2011), Dar et al. (2010),
density Moderate density (0.37–1.08 km-1) 2 Mondal et al. (2008), Rashid et al. (2012)
High density (1.08–2.96 km-1) 3

movement and quality of groundwater. Initially, geological only allow groundwater occurrence (Vittala et al. 2005).
map of the region was digitised from GSI map (GSI 1995), The extent of weathering was identified based on VES
which was updated by ground-truth verification carried out which indicated weathering up to a depth of 40 m from the
in the study area in March 2008. Further the IRS LISS IV ground surface. High rank is assigned for meta-basalt rock
data were also used to improve the geological map. Sub- (Table 2), which has high amount of porosity and good
sequently, another field work was carried out in July 2010 groundwater potential.
to verify and validate the prepared geological map.
The basement of this area is constituted by medium- to Geomorphology
coarse-grained granite (Fig. 5), which comprises the Sri-
sailam formation, the youngest member of Cuddapah super The geometric features of different landforms are created
group. Grey and pink granites are exposed in most parts of by the dynamic action of several geological processes such
the area. These rocks have less porosity and are classified as temperature changes, freezing and thawing, chemical
into low groundwater potential zones with low rank. reactions, seismic shaking and moving of wind and water.
Migmatite granite occurs at north-eastern side and the Denudational hill, linear ridge, pediments, pediplain, water
south-eastern part is underlain by Srisailam metamorphic body, residual hill, structural hill and valley fill were
formations. Arenaceous and pebbly–gritty quartzite shale identified from IRS P6 LISS IV image through visual
with dolomite limestone, intercalated sequence of shale interpretation (Fig. 6). The area occupied by different
quartzite and massive quartzite sediments are also present geomorphological features in the study area is given in
in the Srisailam formations. The stratigraphic sequence Table 1.
occurring in the study area is given in Table 3, and the area Erosion and weathering process creates denudational
occupied by each geologic feature is given in Table 1. hill and is poor to infiltration of surface water (Ramaiah
Generally hard rock does not have primary porosity. Sec- et al. 2012). Linear ridges are identified as dark brown tone
ondary porosity in the form of fractures and weathering linear structures. Pediment is the gentle sloping surface

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 Appl Water Sci

Fig. 3 a Topography (mamsl),

b slope characteristics

formed between hill and plain surface. These appear as they are unfractured rock and have low infiltration (Ra-
coarse tone and texture in FCC satellite image and have maiah et al. 2012). Pediplain, valley fill and water bodies
poor groundwater potential. Pediplain appears in light to allow high infiltration and have good groundwater poten-
dark red tone, fine to coarse texture, wide spread size and tial, hence, are assigned a higher rank (Table 2).
irregular shape which are associated with agricultural land
that yield moderate to good groundwater. In satellite ima- Drainage density
ges, residual hill displays brown to dark red tone, coarse
texture and large size while structural hill which also Drainage in an area depends on the topography, slope and
appears as brown to dark red tone has coarse texture, the subsurface characteristics. Drainage density is calcu-
small size and are irregular in shape. Valley fill is devel- lated as the total length of all the streams and rivers in a
oped due to the deposition of transported and weathered basin divided by the total area of the drainage basin. The
materials in valley areas that are generally controlled by higher the drainage density, the higher the run-off will be,
lineaments. It exhibits dark red to bright red tone on FCC and infiltration of water into the subsurface is affected.
image. Residual hill, structural hill and linear ridge land- This area is bounded by two major rivers, Pedda Vagu in
forms are considered as very low groundwater potential as the south and partly by Gudipalli Vagu in the north. These

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Appl Water Sci

Fig. 4 Land use

Fig. 5 Geology

Table 3 Stratigraphic sequence of the study area (after GSI 1995) two rivers are seasonal and flow during the south-west
monsoon falling mainly between July and September.
Drainage pattern is mainly dendritic to sub-dendritic
(Fig. 7a), whereas trellis-type drainage pattern is also seen
in some parts of the area. Many tanks and few small
reservoirs are present in the depressed parts of the undu-
lating topography. This area also has wide-lined canal
networks catering for irrigation purposes. Drainage density
calculated by Kernel density method to understand the
potential of the watershed to favour the groundwater
potential is given in Fig. 7b. Most of the area falls under

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 Appl Water Sci

Fig. 6 Geomorphology

0.75 to 2.39 km-1 drainage density (Table 1). The drai- act as barrier for groundwater flow which has also been
nage density map was reclassified with areas having less reported by Rajesh et al. (2012) and Rajaveni et al. (2014).
density (0–0.75 km-1) designated with higher rank So, low lineament density indicates low infiltration rate,
(Table 2) as they facilitate recharge (Bagyaraj et al. 2013), whereas the high lineament density areas indicate high
and areas with high density (2.39–5.08 km-1) were des- infiltration (Table 2) thus a potential zone for groundwater
ignated with lower rank (Table 2) as they facilitate less development.
infiltration and recharge (Rashid et al. 2012).
Groundwater potential zonation and validation
Lineament density
Though several features are used to identify the ground-
Developed by the tectonic activity, lineaments reflect a water prospects, this study limits itself to five features to
general surface manifestation of underground fractures, evaluate the groundwater prospects through satellite-based
with inherent characteristics of porosity and permeability remote sensing and GIS in a hard rock terrain. The various
of the underlying materials (Rao 2006). These features distinct characteristics and sub-features in each of these
serve as the main conduits for movement and storage of thematic layers were reclassified by assigning ranks for
groundwater in impermeable rocks worldwide (Preeja et al. computational simplicity. Later, each of these thematic
2011) in the form of dykes and faults. They were delin- layers were assigned suitable weights based on several
eated from geological map, satellite imagery and field studies which is given in Table 2. They were then inte-
visits. Fractures seen on the outcrops, excavations and well grated to bring out a groundwater potential index value
sections were studied during the field visits, and most of the based on the following formula.
fractures are trending NNE–SSW and NS (Rajaveni et al. Groundwater potential index ¼ ðSw  Sr Þ þ ðDDw  DDr Þ
2014). There are 217 intrusive dolerite dykes and 5 faults þ ðLUw  LUr Þ þ ðGw
which have been identified and mapped. In general, the  Gr Þ þ ðLDw  LDr Þ
length of these dykes ranges from 0.17 to 10.23 km, þ ðGMw  GMr Þ
whereas most of the dykes are of length ranging between
0.1 and 1.5 km. From field investigation, it is observed that where S = slope; DD = drainage density; LU = land use;
all the dykes are vertically dipping. G = geology; LD = lineament density; GM = geomor-
Lineament density map was prepared by using line phology; w = feature weight; r = ranking.
density method (Fig. 8). The total area falling in different The final map (Fig. 9) prepared using the analysis tool
range of lineament density is given in Table 1 which shows brought out a range of value from 1 to 2.8. This was further
that most parts of the area have low lineament density. classified into three categories as low (1–1.45), moderate
Around 90 % of lineaments are dykes in this area which (1.5–1.85) and high (1.9–2.8). About 41.3 % (299 km2) of
might affect groundwater flow and have low groundwater the area is classified as high groundwater potential, while
potential. But these dykes are highly weathered and do not some parts in the south-east of the study area have low

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Appl Water Sci

Fig. 7 a Drainage and

b drainage density

groundwater prospects (12.5 %). Moderately suitable area geomorphology and land use result in varied groundwater
for groundwater development was distributed throughout potential zones of this area. A general observance of the
this region occupying 334 km2 of the area (46.1 %). prospective zones based on the various features is given in
High groundwater potential areas are present in the Table 4.
agricultural areas with low slope and less drainage density. Groundwater potential zonation map prepared was
Lineaments in this area do not affect groundwater potential validated with the groundwater levels measured. Ground-
and high groundwater potential zones occur surrounding water levels in 42 wells which were more or less uni-
high lineament density areas. Groundwater in this area is formly distributed over this area were measured once in
restricted to geomorphological features of pediplains, val- 2 months as a part of this study between March 2008 and
ley and pediments. Regions with low groundwater potential January 2009. Measurement of groundwater level fluctu-
area are spread mainly in regions with quartzite and ation was used to determine the range of variation during
dolerite dyke and with hydrogeomorphological units such the study period. It is observed that the groundwater level
as denudational hill, linear ridge, residual hill and structural fluctuation is comparatively less in the monitoring wells
hill. In general, low slope, low drainage density, low lin- located in zones that are classified as high groundwater
eament density associated with gneiss are highly promising potential (Fig. 10). In contrast, in the wells that are located
area for groundwater development. The complex geology, in moderate groundwater potential zones the fluctuation in

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 Appl Water Sci

Fig. 8 Lineament density

Fig. 9 Groundwater potential

zones in a part of Nalgonda
district, Telangana, with yield of
wells

groundwater level was high. In three wells located in the well intersecting connected fractures. Thus, except for this
low potential zones, moderate groundwater level fluctua- location there was reasonable comparison between the
tion was observed. However, there are a few exceptions in well yield and the zones of groundwater potential. These
certain cases which may be due to localised variation in analyses confirm that groundwater potential zone map
hydrogeological conditions and pattern of groundwater derived by remote sensing and GIS method is reliable for
pumping from these wells. Yield of the wells assessed this region. The findings from this study prove to be useful
based on pumping tests is shown in Fig. 9 along with and can be used for groundwater development and gov-
groundwater potential zones. Three of the wells were ernance activities in this area. However, as indicated by a
located in high potential zone and two in moderate few exceptions in comparison of groundwater level fluc-
potential zone, and the yield was higher in the former tuation and well yield with potential zones, greater care
compared to the latter (Fig. 9). However, the pumping test need to be used on the application of remote sensing
carried out in well ‘A’ located in low groundwater techniques since it is difficult to understand the fracture
potential zone indicated a high well yield of value geometry on a regional scale and consider the same in GIS
374 m3/day. This may be due to the possible presence of techniques.

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Appl Water Sci

Table 4 Features of high, moderate and low groundwater potential zones

Feature High Moderate Low

Slope 0°–5° 0°–20° 5°–20°/[20°

Land use Agriculture, water body Built-up, wasteland, forest Built-up, wasteland, forest
Geomorphology Pediplain, water body, valley Pediments Denudational hill, linear ridge, residual hill,
structural hill
Geology Grey biotite gneiss, grey Grey biotite granite, meta-rhyolite, meta-basalt, Migmatite granite, dolerite dyke, quartzite
biotite granite migmatite granite
Drainage 0–2.39 km-1 0–2.39 km-1 2.39–5.08 km-1
density
Lineament 0–0.39/0.39–1.08 km-1 0.39–1.08/1.08–2.96 km-1 1.08–2.96 km-1
density

Fig. 10 Groundwater level fluctuations in different groundwater potential zones

Conclusion Acknowledgments The authors acknowledge the Board of

Research in Nuclear Sciences, Department of Atomic Energy,
Government of India for funding this work (Grant No. 2007/36/35).
Mapping and identifying the groundwater potential zones in Authors also thank the Department of Science and Technology’s
an area help to plan for sustainable groundwater exploitation Funds for Improvement in Science and Technology scheme (Grant
and management. As agriculture is the main activity in this No. SR/FST/ESI-106/2010) and University Grants Commission’s
Special Assistance Programme [Grant No. UGC DRS II F.550/10/
part of Nalgonda district, India, the demand for groundwater
DRS/2007(SAP-1)] for their support in creating laboratory facilities
resource is high. Conducive areas for groundwater occur- which helped in carrying out part of this work.
rence and storage were identified based on slope, drainage
density, land use, geology, lineament density and geomor- Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Crea-
tive Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://
phological features of this area. The best suitable areas
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted
identified were mainly in pediplain and valleys with mini- use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give
mum slope. Areas with agricultural practice provided wide appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link
possibility for groundwater development with high lineament to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
density and low drainage density. Most of the area
(299.3 km2) posed good groundwater recharge capacity. The
areas identified based on integrated mapping of various
features with intensive geological and geomorphological References
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