Groundwater Dependence and Surface Water Gaps in Hamirpur District, India: Insights from GIS Mapping

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20477420

Abstract

The district of Hamirpur in the drought prone Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh is dependent on the ground water sources to provide irrigation to the fields, with the surface water supply being provided by canals and tanks. The primary dataset used in this paper to map and quantify groundwater dependence and identify zones of surface-water gap using the available data and GIS layers, which are block-wise counts of wells, tube wells, solar wells, pumpsets and canal coverage (7 development blocks Gohand, Kurara, Maudaha, Muskara, Rath, Sarila and Sumerpur). These are superimposed with published hydro-meteorological and institutional data (CGWB groundwater evaluations, IMD rainfall examinations, NRSC/Bhuvan LULC, and CPCB river-water quality reports) to consider trends. Findings indicate that there are very dense point-source collections of groundwater infrastructure in Sumerpur, Maudaha and Sarila, but there is greater canal coverage in Muskara, Gohand and Rath. A dependence ratio (groundwater points versus surface proxies) attests to a district-wide shift to well-based irrigation which is supported by monsoon variability, a limited canal command in uplands and hard-rock aquifer limitations beyond the Yamuna- Betwa river corridors. The paper suggests a block-prioritized water-balance approach, which includes: revival of tanks and minors, aquifer-specific recharge (check dams, percolation tanks), groundwater demand management, and near-real-time GIS dashboards, to decrease abstraction pressure and enhance conjunctive use on a district level.

Keywords: Groundwater, Surface Water, GIS Mapping, Hamirpur District, Bundelkhand, Water Resource Management