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Identification and analysis ofgroundwater potential zones inKen–Betwa river linking area usingremote sensing and geographicinformation systemRam Avtar a , C. K. Singh a , Satyanarayan Shashtri a , Amit Singh a

& Saumitra Mukherjee aa Remote Sensing Applications Laboratory , School ofEnvironmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University , New Delhi,110067, IndiaPublished online: 28 May 2010.

To cite this article: Ram Avtar , C. K. Singh , Satyanarayan Shashtri , Amit Singh & SaumitraMukherjee (2010) Identification and analysis of groundwater potential zones in Ken–Betwa riverlinking area using remote sensing and geographic information system, Geocarto International, 25:5,379-396, DOI: 10.1080/10106041003731318

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10106041003731318

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Identification and analysis of groundwater potential zones in Ken–Betwa

river linking area using remote sensing and geographic information

system

Ram Avtar, C.K. Singh, Satyanarayan Shashtri, Amit Singh andSaumitra Mukherjee*

Remote Sensing Applications Laboratory, School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal NehruUniversity, New Delhi, 110067, India

(Received 22 August 2009; final version received 25 February 2010)

Theuse of remote sensingdatawith other ancillary data in a geographic informationsystem (GIS) environment is useful to delineate groundwater potential zonationmap of Ken–Betwa river linking area of Bundelkhand. Various themes ofinformation such as geomorphology, land use/land cover, lineament extractedfrom digital processing of Landsat (ETMþ) satellite data of the year 2005 anddrainage map were extracted from survey of India topographic sheets, andelevation, slope datawere generated from shuttle radar topographymission (SRTM)digital elevationmodel (DEM). These themes were overlaid to generate groundwaterpotential zonation (GWPZ)mapof the area.Thefinalmapof the area showsdifferentzones of groundwater prospects, viz., good (5.22%of the area),moderate (65.83%ofthe area) poor (15.31% of the area) and very poor (13.64% of area).

Keywords: groundwater potential zonation (GWPZ); lineaments; land use/landcover; Ken–Betwa link project (KBLP)

1. Introduction

Water is the most precious and commonly used resource in nature, both surface andgroundwater. Groundwater is a dynamic resource as it varies temporally as well asspatially. Groundwater is the most important source of drinking water and also usedfor other purposes. In a developing country like India where we have acute waterproblems, both drinking water and irrigation, the nature, source and the availabilityof groundwater should be thoroughly studied, and evaluation of groundwaterpotential is very important issue. For sustainable water resources development it isessential to identify the zones where the groundwater replenishment is taking place.For this, the knowledge of the areas where the surface water is percolating down tomix with the groundwater is essential. These areas where the replenishment ofgroundwater takes place are called recharge zones.

The terms ‘groundwater potential zones’ and ‘groundwater recharge zones’ seemto be synonymous, but these are two different phenomena. Groundwater potentialzones are those areas where the water is present in sufficient amount under sub-surface condition and can be extracted economically. On the other hand,

*Corresponding author. Email: saumitramukherjee3@gmail.com

Geocarto International

Vol. 25, No. 5, August 2010, 379–396

ISSN 1010-6049 print/ISSN 1752-0762 online

� 2010 Taylor & Francis

DOI: 10.1080/10106041003731318

http://www.informaworld.com

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groundwater recharge zones are the areas where surface water percolates down andmixes with the groundwater. Eventually some of the groundwater recharge zonesmay become groundwater potential zones (Panda 1998).

Human activities cause changes in groundwater by change in land use/land cover,soil cover, reduction in groundwater recharge. Overexploitation of groundwater ormonsoon failure results into inadequate recharge and depletion of groundwater tablewill cause hydro-meteorological hazards such as drought which has become morefrequent in Bundelkhand (Bhagwat 2008).

The Ken–Betwa Link Project (KBLP) involves connecting the Ken and Betwarivers through the creation of a dam, reservoir and canal to provide storage forexcess rainfall during the monsoon season in the upper Ken basin and deliver thiswater for consumption and irrigation purposes to the upper Betwa basin (NWDA2007). The thematic layers like geology, geomorphology, lineament, drainage, soiltype, land use/land cover and slope was analysed in geographic information system(GIS) environment to generate groundwater potential zonation (GWPZ) map of anarea (Krishnamurthy et al. 2000, Murthy 2000, Vijith and Satheesh 2007). Severalstudies (Gustafsson 1993, Jaiswal et al. 2003, Wolski and Gumbricht 2003) havedemonstrated the use of remote sensing for groundwater zonation displaying thepotential and limitations of this tool. Saaty (1994) had proposed one of the mostaccepted quantitative methods for assigning relative weights and rates based on themulti-criteria evaluation for decision making. In this study, an attempt was made toutilize a similar method to identify the feasibility of the Ken–Betwa river linkingproject. It is essential to study the feasibility before beginning any river-linkingproject (Mukherjee 2003).

2. Study area

Most of the part of the study area lies in Bundelkhand which is divided between thestates of Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Madhya Pradesh (MP) (Figure 1). KBLP involvesthe linking of the Ken and Betwa rivers through a 231.45 km long canal covering thestates of MP and UP. The commend area of this link is bound between latitude248400E-788600N, 258650E and longitude 788400N, 258300E to 808000N as shown inFigure 1. It covers approximately 61750 km2 of area spread in 17 administrative blocks.

Bundelkhand generally experiences a semi-arid climate, though this is highlyvariable depending on the region and the time of year. Indeed, the area is notoriousfor experiencing droughts in summer and disastrous floods during the monsoon. Themonsoon brings over 90% of the annual rainfall between the months of June andSeptember, with the highest precipitation occurring in July and August. On average,the region receives anywhere from 75 to 125 cm of rain each year. The dry plains inthe north usually receive less rainfall while the southeast benefits from more. Thearea has average maximum and minimum temperatures of 44.28C and 6.78C. Mayand June are generally the hottest months and December and January are the coldestmonths. The maximum and minimum values of humidity are 95% and 9% duringthe monsoon and summer seasons, respectively.

2.1 Ken–Betwa basins

The Ken river has its origin from the Ahirgawan village on the north-west slopes ofthe Kaimur hills in the Jabalpur district of MP at an elevation of about 550 m above

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mean sea level. The total length of the river from its origin to confluence with theriver Yamuna is 427 km, out of which 292 km lies in MP, 84 km in UP and 51 kmforms the common boundary between UP and MP. The river joins the Yamuna rivernear village Chilla in UP at an elevation of about 95 m. The river is the last tributaryof Yamuna before the Yamuna joins the Ganga. The river basin lies between thelatitudes of 238120N and 258540N and the longitudes of 788300E and 808360E. Thetotal catchment area of the basin is 28,058 km2, out of which 24,472 km2 lies in MPand the remaining 3586 km2 in UP.

The Betwa river originates in the Raisen district of MP near Barkhera villagesouth-west of Bhopal at an elevation of about 576 m above mean sea level. It flowsin a northeasterly direction. The total length of the river from its origin to confluencewith the Yamuna is 590 km, out of which 232 km lies in MP and the rest 358 km inUP. The river joins the Yamuna near Hamirpur in UP at an elevation of about106 m. The river basin lies between the latitudes of 228540N and 258000N and thelongitudes of 778100E and 808200E. The total catchment area of the basin is

Figure 1. Location of the study area.

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43,895 km2, out of which 30,217 km2 lies in MP and the remaining 13,678 km2

lies in UP.

2.2 Geology of the area

The area contains three major groups of rocks with high uncertain ages: theBundelkhand complex (older than 2600 my), the Bijawar group (2600–2400 my),Vindhayan super group (1400-900 my) as shown in Figure 2. The study area ispredominantly made up of Bundelkhand Granite complex belonging to Bundelk-hand group. These granites are frequently associated with pegmatites and quartzreefs (Ahmad 1984). Above Bundelkhand gneissic complex, younger alluvial plains,older alluvial plains, gravel, sand and clay of recent origin lie uncomfortably whichin some places are also termed as buried pediment plains depending upon their modeof formation (Mukherjee 1991). The middle protereozoic formations have beendeposited over Bundelkhand massif along its southeastern margin are known asBijawar group (Medlicott 1860). The Bijawar group of the area consists ofterrigenous sequence of basal carbonates and shales with greenschists or pillowbasalts, chloritic shales, ferruginous quartzites and banded iron formations.Vindhayan super group have been broadly divided into four major groups namelythe Semri (lower), Kaimur, Rewa and Bhander (upper) based on lithologicalsimilarities (Auden 1933) and into lower and upper Vindhyans on the basis of majortectonic (major unconformity) evidences (Mallet 1869). The upper Kaimur grouprocks of the Vindhayan super group are represented by sandstones all over theVindhayan basin. The sandstones are red to greyish-white, medium to fine grained,compact and highly jointed. Lower Vindhayan formations are represented by

Figure 2. Geology of the study area.

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Tirohan limestone, Baghain sandstone; diamond-bearing conglomerate of Kaimurgroup is present in Panna district. Alluvial deposits of clay, silt and sand of sub-aerial and fluviatile origin are the most recent geologic deposits in the Bundelkhandand are more predominant near the Yamuna river and its tributaries.

3. Materials and methods

In the first step, all the data have been converted to digital format, by scanning inTIFF format and geo-referenced into Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM),spheroid and datum WGS-1984. Remote sensing data are already in digital format.So they are used directly for thematic map generation. Geological and environ-mental parameters controlled movement and occurrence of groundwater (Roy 1991,Greenbaum 1992, Jaiswal et al. 2003). Landsat ETM þ data acquired on 2005 wasused to derive land use/land cover, lineament and geomorphology maps. A standardfalse colour composite (FCC) was prepared from bands-4,-3,-2 coded in red, greenand blue colour scheme which highlights the geomorphic features, land use,lineament, vegetation cover and soil types. ERDAS Imagine 8.5 and ArcGIS 9.1software were used for the data processing. Shuttle radar topographymission (SRTM)data are used for generation of elevationmap, slopemaps.Drainage and soilmapsweregenerated from topographic sheets and existing maps (Thomas et al. 2009).

Each thematic map was assigned a weight depending on its influence on thestorage and movement of groundwater. Relative score of each thematic unit in atheme were calculated by multiplying the weight of the theme with the rate of therespective thematic unit. The weight and rank of each layer are given in the table.The scored maps were overlaid by using spatial analyst tool of ArcGIS.The resultant map was classified into good, moderate and poor zones. The resultswere validated by using groundwater level maps of the area. The methodologyadopted in this study is given in the flow chart (Figure 3).

4. Results and discussion

4.1 Geomorphology

Visual interpretation of digitally enhanced images enables identification of thegeomorphologic features. Geomorphologically, the area depicts both erosional anddepositional landforms as shown in Figure 4. Geomorphology was assigned highestweight because it has a dominant role in the movement and storage of groundwaterin the study area (Thomas et al. 2009).

. Erosional hills: This represents the remnants of oldest plain surface marked bydomes and ridges of Bundelkhand granites, gneiss quartzite and dolerites.Because of high slope and relief they are not suitable for groundwaterexploration.

. Denudational hills: These are the hill ranges. These are formed due todifferential erosion and weathering. These occupy the south-western alignmentof the area. The groundwater prospect in this zone is also considered as poorzones.

. River channel: Ken, Betwa and Yamuna are main rivers along with number oftributaries, transporting a heavy amount of silt, clay and sand. Meandering ofrivers is very prominent. The Ken–Betwa rivers follow a meandering path

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forming a V-shaped asymmetric valley that has a much smaller gradient. Theseare considered as good zones for groundwater.

. Flood plain deposits: Generally area bordering a stream is covered by coarsefine sand, clay and silt, directly deposited at the time of floods. This iscomparatively low-lying area, close to the river. The flood plain deposits are

Figure 3. Flow chart depicting the methodology adopted for groundwater potential mapgeneration.

Figure 4. Geomorphology of the study area.

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developed at the constructive side of river channels. They are considered asgood zones for groundwater.

. Alluvial plains: These are formed by deposition of soil or sediments by a riveror other running water. Most of the northern part of the study area is coveredby alluvial plains. The porosity and permeability of the alluvial plains are veryhigh so they are considered as good zones for groundwater.

. Ravines: It is highly rugged and ravenous topography. Most of the area of riverBetwa, Dhasan and some area of Ken is covered by ravines. Groundwaterpossibilities become less due to high run off and its impermeable nature.

. Pediments: A pediment is gently inclined erosional surface carved in bedrock,thinly veneered with gravel, and developed at the base of mountain. Pedimentsare most prevalent in very arid environments. These are considered as poor tomoderate for groundwater.

4.2 Lineament map of the study area

Lineaments map was prepared by using satellite imagery, geological maps(Figure 5a). Lineaments are the manifestation of linear features that can play amajor role in identifying suitable sites for groundwater recharge (Chowdary et al.2008). A good correlation is found between lineament count density, lineamentlength density and lineament intersection density. Lineaments on the surface havebeen identified early as conduits for groundwater flow in fractured aquifers andhence targeted for locating production wells (Lattmann 1958, Meijerink 1996, Tamet al. 2004). Lineaments are evaluated in order to extract further information on thedistribution and nature of the lineaments, and for this purpose conventionaltechniques are applied to lineaments such as frequency or length against azimuthhistograms, rose-diagrams (Nalbant and Alptekin 1995) and lineament density maps(Zakir et al.1999). The purpose of the lineament density analysis is to calculatefrequency of the lineaments per unit area. This is also known as lineament-frequency(Greenbaum 1985, Kumar and Reddy 1991). Orientations of the lineaments areusually analysed by rose diagrams (Figure 5b). The rose diagram indicates that themost dominant fault direction is N30–408 and S210-2208. The lineament trends arepredominantly along NNE-SSW, NNW and SSE. The lineament density is high inthe southern and central part of study area (Figure 5c). Lineaments play importantrole in groundwater recharge in hard rock terrains (Koch and Mather 1997).Lineament-length density (Ld) is the total length of all delineated lineaments dividedby the total area under consideration (Greenbaun 1985):

Ld ¼Xi¼n

i¼1Li A ðm�1Þ

wherePi¼n

i¼1Li ¼ total length of all lineaments (m) and A ¼ area (m2).

4.3 Slope map of the study area

Slope is a measurement of steepness from the ground surface. The steeper the surfacethe greater is the slope. Slope is measured by calculating the tangent of the surface.Regional topography and slope data can provide important information on the

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Figure 5. (a) Lineament interpretation; (b) rose diagram; (c) lineament length density map.

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nature of geologic and geodynamic processes operating on planets. The slope mapwas generated from the digital elevation model (DEM) using Arc GIS 9.1 spatialanalysis tool. Most parts of the study area have slope within the range of 39–578.Southern part of the area exhibits steeper slope, whereas the northern parts areassociated with lower slopes. Alluvial region lying in the northern part shows lowerslope is good for groundwater while hilly region of southern part shows steeperslopes are not good for groundwater (Figure 6). The slope of the area has a largeimpact on the amount of water infiltration into the ground and amount of water lostas run off.

4.4 Soil map of the study area

The climate, physiography and geology characterize soil and play an important rolein groundwater recharge and run-off. The water holding capacity of the area dependsupon the soil types and their permeability. Basically, the soil in this region is oftendivided into clayed loam, sandy loam, loam and loamy sand. On the basis of soiltexture, most of the part is covered by loamy soil and most of the Betwa basincovered by loamy sand and Ken basin by loamy sand in upper part and sandy clay inlower part. Most of the part of the link canal covers loamy soil and in near Betwabasin it is mainly covered by loamy sand (Figure 7). The soil with poor water holdingcapacity like sandy loam is good for groundwater.

4.5 Drainage networks

A drainage map of the area gives the idea about the permeability of the rocks andalso gives an indication of the yield of the basin (Wisler and Brater 1959). A drainage

Figure 6. Slope map of the study area.

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map of the study area was generated from the vectorization of topographic sheet aswell as satellite imagery, representing the network of main streams in the catchments,followed by the tributaries up to the last order. The map of drainage network showsthe major rivers Yamuna, Ken, Betwa, Dhasan, Jamni and a large number of otherstreams draining this region. The drainage pattern in the area was dendritic, pinnatetype (Figure 8). Drainage density is the ratio of the total length of the stream to thearea of the drainage basin. The southern part of the basin is associated with veryhigh drainage density. About 40% of the area upstream of the ganagu weir showsmedium drainage density. Some parts of the western and south-eastern of thecatchment show low-drainage density, this is due to high amount of vegetation andpermeable nature of the soil (Figure 9). The higher the drainage density, the lower isthe infiltration and faster is the movement of the surface flow (Pachauri et al. 1998,Cevik and Topal 2003).

4.6 Land use/land cover map

The land use/land cover map was generated by using unsupervised classification.Land use/land cover study is useful in assessing impacts of river linking on landresources. Landsat ETMþ satellite data of year 2005 and topographic maps wereused to prepare the land use map of the study area through image classificationprocedure. On this basis, the whole area was classified into 10 categories, viz. water,dense forest, built up, current fallow/agricultural land, waterlogged, degradedforest, land with scrub, bare exposed rock, fallow land, and land without scrub(Figure 10). Land use/land cover effect evapotranspiration, surface run-off andgroundwater recharge. Waterlogged area is good for groundwater recharge andfallow land is poor for it (Chowdary et al. 2008).

Figure 7. Soil map of the study area.

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4.7 Depth to water level

Depth to water level data for 124 observation sites were obtained from CentralGround Water Board (CGWB) for the year 1999–2004. The groundwater level data

Figure 8. Drainage network map of the study area.

Figure 9. Drainage density map of the study area.

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were converted into dbf format and imported into Arc View GIS and converted intoshape file. The observation points originally expressed as geographic coordinateswere converted to UTM projection system for interpolation (Figure 11). Finally,interpolation of the groundwater level was done by using spline interpolator in ArcView 3.2.

In the study area, as the precipitation is concentrated mainly in monsoon season,depth to groundwater is generally reduced during monsoon and post-monsoon,whereas it gets deepened during pre-monsoon because discharge rates are greaterthan the recharge rates. Under natural conditions, depth to water-level is related totopography. The groundwater depths are maximum in the northern portion of thestudy area, and minimum in the southern portion of the study area. The magnitudeof seasonal fluctuation in water levels in response to monsoon recharge is related toaquifer porosity and storage. After recharge, the rise in water levels may be greaterand sustained longer in aquifers with low permeability than in aquifers with high

Figure 10. Land use/land cover map of study area (based on unsupervised classification ofLandsat Data 2005).

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permeability. The range of seasonal fluctuation generally varied from region byregion of the study area, reflecting the different hydrogeological conditions andpossible spatial variation in recharge rates or storage characteristics of the aquifer.

Figure 12a shows that pre-monsoon groundwater level during May 99 variedmostly from 4 to 12 m below the surface. The impacts of rainfall-recharge is evidentas groundwater level during August 99 was very shallow (54 m below ground level(bgl)) in the entire region (Figure 12b). Groundwater level in the immediate post-monsoon period slightly declines; however, it was still very shallow (�4 m) in mostparts of the region (Figure 12c). In most parts of the region the water table slightlydeclines during the winter of 2000 (Figure 12d).

During the pre-monsoon of the year 2003, groundwater level was greater than8 m in many parts of the region (Figure 12p). However, during the monsoon due tothe effect of rainfall-recharge, water table attained shallower depth (�5 m) in mostparts of the region (Figure 12q). Groundwater level during the post-monsoon of2003 varied in between 2 and 8 m bgl (Figure 12r). Even during the winter of 2004water level did not decline, and mostly lay within 4–8 m bgl in most part of theregions (Figure 12s).

4.8 GIS modelling

The groundwater potential map (Figure 13) was generated on the basis of cumulativeweight assigned to different features of thematic layers in GIS, which was classifiedinto groundwater prospects zones based on the decision as high (5.22% of the area),moderate (65.83% of the area) poor (15.31% of the area) and very poor (13.64% ofarea). The maximum area is characterized by moderate potential zonation thatoccupies 65.83% of total area. To validate the classification we have collectedgroundwater level data of existing wells. The maps generated from interpolation ofgroundwater level data (Figure 12) show seasonal changes in groundwater level.These maps were superimposed on groundwater potential map to identify the area

Figure 11. Map showing location of monitoring wells.

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with water scarcity and it showed most of the area with low groundwater level liesinto the poor groundwater potential zones. The area around the rivers, alluvial plain,low slope, low-drainage density, with high-lineament density is good in groundwater

Figure 12. Interpolation maps of water level from May 1999 to January 2004. (a) May 1999.(b) August 1999. (c) November 1999. (d) January 2000. (e) May 2000. (f) August 2000. (f)November2000. (g) January 2001. (h) May 2001. (i) August 2001. (j) November 2001. (k)January 2002. (l) May 2002. (m) August 2002. (n) November 2002. (o) January 2003. (p) May2003. (q) August 2003. (r) November 2003. (s) January 2004.

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prospects. The area with high slope, high-drainage density, and ravenous, lowlineaments are poor to very poor in groundwater prospects.

The linking canal will transfer water from Ken river to Betwa river is present inthe very poor and poor zone of the GWPZ map so it will benefit enroute commandarea. This enroute command area covers Chhatarpur, Tikamgarh, Jhansi, Hamirpurdistrict of Bundelkhand and these districts were severally affected by recent drought.So this link will help in water scarcity problems of these districts.

5. Conclusion

In a developing country like India, there is weak infrastructure as well as lowaccessibility and data scarcity. In such cases, utilization of remote sensing and GIS isa good tool for water resource management. It plays an important role in integratingall the data to generate GWPZ. This is useful in the study of feasibility of the Ken–Betwa river linking. The GWPZ map of the area shows a good correlation with thefield data and the area adjoining the water body if good (Table 1). This groundwaterzonation map will help in planning strategies for effective management of waterresources. The demand of water increases day by day so it would become necessaryto use more and more groundwater. At the same time, for the sustainablemanagement of this resource, effective measures need to be taken to increase therecharge into the groundwater reserves. The change in land use/land cover is themajor threat to groundwater potential. In ancient times, Bundelkhand area had lotsof natural water bodies, which were a good source for groundwater recharge but dueto population growth they disappeared. With the population growth, the water

Figure 13. Groundwater potential map of the study area.

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demand will increase. River linking is a good solution to solve this demand. But thealternate techniques like rainwater harvesting, infiltration pits are much more costeffective than such a huge project like linking river. This study shows that the linkcanal will solve the drought problem of Bundelkhand because the enroute area fallsinto very poor to poor area of GWPZ.

Acknowledgements

The authors are highly thankful to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR),ICMR, New Delhi, for the financial assistance. The authors are also indebted to the NationalWater Development Authority (NWDA) and Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) forproviding the invaluable data to pursue the study. The authors also want to put on recordcontribution of the School of Environmental Science, JNU, New Delhi for facilitating dataanalysis in its laboratories. The authors are thankful to the anonymous reviewer of theGeocarto International Journal.

References

Ahmad, S.M., 1984. Hydrogeological investigations for augmenting water supply in droughtaffected areas of Banda district, Uttar Pradesh. Central Ground Water Board.Unpublished report: Lucknow, India.

Table 1. Thematic map weight, feature and ranking for GWPZ.

Theme Weight Features Rank

Geomorphology 5 Flood plain 5Ravines 1Pediment 2Denudational hills 2Alluvial plain 3

Lineament density 4 High 4Medium 3Low 2Very low 1

Slope 3 472 157–72 239–57 314–39 4514 5

Soil cover 3 Clayed loam 1Sandy loam 4Loamy 2Loamy sand 3

Drainage density 2 Very high 1High 2Medium 3Low 4Very low 5

Land use/land cover 1 Dense forest 1Land with scrub 2Agricultural land 3Degraded forest 3Land without scrub 4Fallow land 4

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