Differentiation of Natural Recharging Zones of Groundwater in Watersheds:A Simple Method

The natural recharging of groundwater in any watershed is a key parameter on which many other components of the watersheds are depended on. Finding out of natural recharging zones of groundwater and their preservation is a prime requirement for maintaining the socio-ecological equilibrium, but such attempts were not been dealt seriously till now owing to the intricacy involved in it. Here, a simple technique is developed to find out the natural recharging zones of groundwater in a watershed. The depths to water table (below ground level) measured in a systematic network of observation wells just before the starting of the monsoon rainfall and just after the initiation of the monsoon spell (after the heavy downpour of the initial 2-3 weeks) are used to delineate the natural recharging zones. The zones, which act as the areas of natural recharge of groundwater should be conserved and no landscape alterations should be allowed in such zones. The present simple methodology, which is cost effective can be applied to any river basins/watersheds to delineate the natural recharging zones of groundwater.