Identification of Groundwater Potential Recharge and Recharge Zones of Tumakuru District Using GIS

Groundwater is essential for human activity in regions lacking surface water sources. As such one of the rain deficit regions in south central part of India is Tumakuru. The study area comprising the watershed regions of Tumakuru district was identified and a first-order water balance was performed for 1992–2020 and projections for 2050 based on the SSP 245 and SSP 585 climate change scenarios. The land cover has undergone significant changes in the impervious area, increasing over 10%, This increasing trend is seen beyond 2020, and these gains have largely impacted grasslands. With the advent of the proposed economic development projects, the region may project increased changes in its land cover type than the modeled data for the year 2050. With changes in land cover and precipitation patterns, the region will see increased runoff by 12%, thus resulting in a reduction in groundwater recharge, leading to widespread water availability issues beyond 2020 and into the future. The analysis was done from 1992 to 2020 in intervals of 4 years to understand the historical water availability trends and the year 2050 as projected in the CMIP6 climate change scenarios. Based on the results, there is a projection of a reduction in groundwater recharge and eventually exerting stress on the water resources in the study area. To alleviate these stresses, we have identified suitable recharge areas based on the runoff coefficients and recommend adopting artificial recharge efforts to increase the recharge and also potential ways to reduce the exploitation of groundwater resources. © 2023, The Institution of Engineers (India).