Title: Vulnerability assessment of seawater intrusion and effect of artificial recharge in Pondicherry coastal region using GIS
Abstract:An Indicator based model is described to assess and quantify the significance of vulnerability to seawater intrusion due to excessive ground water withdrawals: also to analyze the impact of artificial...An Indicator based model is described to assess and quantify the significance of vulnerability to seawater intrusion due to excessive ground water withdrawals: also to analyze the impact of artificial recharge in minimizing the seawater intrusion for coastal aquifers. Thematic maps of factors influencing the seawater intrusion and artificial recharge were prepared and overlaid using Geographical Information System (GIS). Based on GALDIT Index, the aquifer vulnerability index mapping was carried out. The distributions of the vulnerability areas for good, moderate and poor class are 32%, 45% and 23% respectively. These maps can be used as a tool for management of the coastal ground water resources. Further, the vulnerable areas are reclassified into two zones: good and poor potential areas (recharge zones). The influence of artificial recharge in pushing the freshwater-seawater interface towards the sea was simulated. For different options of surface water availability and artificial recharge, the possibility of remedial measures of seawater intrusion is estimated. Keywords: Aquifer vulnerability mapping, Sea water intrusion, GALDIT Index, Artificial recharge, GIS, OverlayRead More