Statistical Approach for Comprehensive Planning of Watershed Development Through Artificial Recharge

The purpose of the study is to demonstrate that cross-correlation analyses can contribute to the artificial recharge study in regional level of shallow aquifer. Correlations between hydrologic time series data were analyzed to identify the hydrogeologic location for potential artificial recharge in district Surat, Gujrat, India. The natural groundwater-level fluctuations and rainfall data were used for the analyses. The effective development of groundwater resources is essential for a country like India. India receives a good amount of average annual rainfall (114 cm) but most of its part goes waste as runoff. Over exploitation of groundwater due to increasing population is an additional cause of water crisis that results in the reduction in per capita availability of water in the country. Artificial recharge is essential for effective development of groundwater resources. An effort has been made to evaluate the suitable recharge zone considering rainfall by arresting runoff to restore groundwater conditions using a statistical technique. Groundwater system in a basaltic terrain where the top weathered regolith forms shallow aquifer the water table variation is directly influenced with temporal rainfall variation. Understanding of this relation is of critical importance to management of groundwater resources. A diagnostic relationship between recharge time series and water level time series is used to serve the purpose to determine the best site for groundwater recharge. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012