Large Scale Hydro-Geomorphological Mapping of Itanagar Capital Town Using Space Technology
Groundwater serves as a major contributor in meeting the demand of water in the Country. With the rapid population growth in Arunachal Pradesh, the demand of water for drinking, domestic and agricultural purposes are increasing day by day and thus the need for groundwater exploration is also increasing.
Groundwater resource is mapped based on derivative techniques involving complex processes. Groundwater prospect maps generated by NRSC under National Rural Drinking Water Program (NRDWP) have their limitations and limited scope because of their scale (50k) and resolution of satellite data used for their preparation.
This study aims at generating Groundwater prospect map of Itanagar township on 1:10,000 scale to locate site for high yielding groundwater wells and to achieve sustainability of groundwater sources in the town.
The study area shows wide range of variation in terms of groundwater prospect. River terraces have the better prospect whereas structural hills have the least prospect. Recharge structures like contour bunding/trenching, gully plugging, construction of recharge pit, and farm pond will improve the groundwater condition of the study area.
Development and management of existing springs is recommended in the study area. The prospect maps form good database and these will help the department of Public Health Engineering and Water Supply (PHE&WS), Govt. of A.P., and Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), Govt. of India in finding out sites for drilling new wells.
An one day workshop was organized on 20th December, 2023 at Arunachal Pradesh Civil Secretariat, Block-I, Room No.106 to formally handover the final maps and report to State PHE Department and also to showcase the large scale HGM mapping methodology to the State Space/Remote Sensing Application Centres.