GROUNDWATER RECHARGE AND DATING STUDIES IN PATHRI RAO WATERSHED, DISTT. HARIDWAR (UA)

Abstract

Groundwater forms one of the most commonly used sources of drinking water. It is believed to be safe, free from pathogenic bacteria and from suspended matter. Groundwater utilization has been recognized as a notable component of the available global resources. The rate of withdrawal of groundwater is increasing continuously due to faster pace of population growth accompanied by agricultural and industrial development. This has increased the concern on groundwater resource evaluation and its management for sustainable development. Though the complexities in the groundwater dynamics in space and time can be studied through various conventional techniques, it requires a vast amount of database and its analysis. The isotope techniques have proved easy and efficient in investigating groundwater dynamics. In the present study, it is aimed to fmd out groundwater recharge sources using different isotope techniques of Pathri Rao watershed in district Haridwar (Uttranchal state), situated in piedmont zone of Himalaya foothill region of India. The Himalaya is skirted by an upper piedmont zone along its southern margin and is referred differently as "Kandi" in the northwestern India and "Bhabhar" in the northern India. The lower piedmont zone located further southward is referred as "Tarai". The piedmont zone presents several difficulties in groundwater exploration and development due to occurrence of thick deposits of poorly sorted unindurated sediments, deep water table, and the associated problems in drilling. Due to these problems, the groundwater availability in the area becomes cost prohibitive and is generally unavailable to the rural users for the societal needs. Further, much of the groundwater is recharged by percolation to deep aquifers situated further downstream, because of the southward gradient of the land surface in the Bhabhar zone. The groundwater thus recharged into the deep aquifers in these areas is not fully accounted for by the currently available methods of groundwater assessment. Hence, there is a need to apply alternate experimental methods to create a geodata base for accurate ii groundwater resource evaluation The objectives of present study is to assess ground water resources through conventional methodology, groundwater recharge assessment, and age determination of groundwater in Upper Piedmont zone of Pathri Rao watershed in District Haridwar, Uttaranchal, India.