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MAUSAM, 59, 4 (October 2008), 497-502
556.3.02 : 551.501.86
(497)
Delineation of potential groundwater zones in the Kagna river basin of Gulburga
district, Karnataka, India using remote sensing and GIS techniques
M. RUDRAIAH, S. GOVINDAIAH and S. SRINIVASA VITTALA*
Department of Geology, Manasagangotri, University of Mysore, Mysore, India
*Central Groundwater Board, South-Western Region, Bangalore, India
(Received 8 April 2008, Modified 10 September 2008)
e mail : sgovindaiah@rediffmail.com
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ABSTRACT. The potential groundwater zones in parts of Kagna river basin of Gulburga district, Karnataka, have
been delineated on the basis of geomorphic units alongwith geological setting, lineaments indicating bore well locations
using remote sensing and GIS. The study area covers an area of 1318 sq km and it is divided into Wadi, Chitapur, Sedam
and Kurkunta sub-basins which range in area from 184 to 537 sq km. Lithologically, the area consists of basement
gneisses with granites overlain by conglomerate, sandstone, shale and limestone with a thin cover of Deccan basalts.
Hydrogeomorphologically, the entire area is classified into escarpment slope, pediments, pediment inselberg complex,
shallow pediplains, moderate pediplains, slightly to highly dissected and undissected plateaus, valleys and shallow valley
fills. The lineaments representing drainages and dykes are oriented in NNW, NW, EW and NE directions. Most of
boreholes are located nearer to the lineaments indicating that the lineaments are acting as pathways for the movement of
groundwater. Based on lineament and hydrogeomorphic analysis, it is suggested that the valley fills and moderate
pediplains are very good to good, shallow pediplains and dissected plateau are good to moderate, pediments are moderate
to poor and the pediment inselburg complex and escarpment slope are the poor to very poor potential groundwater zones.
Key words – Remote sensing, GIS technique, Hydrogeomorphology, Lineaments.
1. Introduction
Groundwater is a very essential and valuable
resource for the developmental activity. Hence, a proper
evaluation and management of groundwater is required.
Satellite remote sensing provides an opportunity for better
observation and more systematic analysis of various
hydrogeomorphic units, lineaments, following the
synoptic multispectral repeatitive coverage of the terrain
(Chakraborthy and Paul, 2004; Ravindra 1997; Nag, 2005
and Vittala et al., 2005). Since, there is no published
literature with regard to evaluation of potential
groundwater zones using remote sensing and GIS
techniques, the present work has been undertaken in the
Kagna river basin based on the hydrogeomorphic units
and the lineament analysis including bore well locations.
498 MAUSAM, 59, 4 (October 2008)
Fig. 1. Hydrogeomorphological map of the study area
1.1. Study area
The study area is located between Lat. 16° 52′ -
17° 15′ and Long. 76° 55′ - 77° 30′ and forms a part of
Kagna river basin in Chitapur, Sedam and Yadgir taluks
of Gulburga district of Karnataka. It forms the eastern part
of sedimentary sequence belonging to the Bhima Group of
rocks. The river Kagna is a tributary to the river Bhima.
The river Kagna flows from east to west and confluences
near Shahabad. The study area is sub-divided into Wadi,
Chitapur, Sedam and Kurkunta sub-basins which range in
area from 184 to 537 sq km.
1.2. Geological setting
A horizontal to nearly horizontal bedded
Neoproterozoic sediments, predominently of limestone,
occupying an area of 5,200 sq km in parts of Bijapur and
Gulburga districts of Karnataka as well as Rangareddy
districts of Andhra Pradesh was named as Bhima series by
King (1872), after the river Bhima, which rises near
Mahabaleshwar (Maharastra) in the western ghats and
crosses in this basin in NW and SE direction. The Bhima
series were later given a Group status and classified by
different workers (Janardhan Rao et al., 1975 ; Mathur,
1977 and Kale et al., 1990) into five Formations namely
Rabanapalli shale Formation, Kurkunta limestone
Formation, Halkal shale Formation, Katamadevarahalli
limestone Formation and Gogi shale Formation. The
northern fringe of the Bhima basin is occupied by vast
spread of Deccan traps of cretaceous to Eocene age. The
granitoid embayments occur to the southern fringes of the
basin.
The study area consists of basement migmatites and
granodioritic tonolitic gneisses (270 sq km) of the
Peninsular gneissic complex enclosing gray to pink
granites (41sq km). These basement rocks are overlained
unconformably by sedimentary sequences belonging to
Bhima group represented by conglomerate, sandstone,
shale (201 sq km), limestone (649 sq km) with thin cover
of Deccan basalts (148 sq km) with laterite cover 9 sq km
(Table 1).
The study area is characterised by undulatory
topography with rugged hilly terrains consisting of
gneisses and Deccan basalts in the southeastern portion of
the area (Sedam and Kurkunta sub-basins). The general
elavation of the land surface ranges from 380 m to 668 m
from MSL and the highest peak is of elevation 668 m.
The hilly terrain is covered with dense reserve forest
whereas the plains are mainly of limestones covered with
crop lands and villages. On the other sub-basins of the
study area, a number of gullies originate from the highest
peak of elevation confined to southeast and southern
portion of the study area. These gullies joined together to
form small streams and ultimately all the streams are
moving towards north and join the main Kagna river
which flows from east to west and finally confluneces
near Shahabad to river Bhima in the western portion of the
study area (Fig. 1)
Kagna River
0 5 10 Km
N
Bhima River
Butte
Mesa
Channel Island
Escarpment slope
Pediment
Pediment Inselberg Complex
Pediplain Moderate
Pediplain Moderate Under Canal Command
Pediplain Shallow
Plateau Highly Dissected
Plateau Moderately Dissected
Plateau Slightly Dissected
Plateau Undissected
Plateau Weathered
River/Stream
Valley
Valley Fill Shallow
Waterbody
Subwatershed boundary
Studyarea
State boundary
16° 52'
76°
55' 77°
30' 16° 52'
76°
55'17° 15'
KURKUNTA
SEDAM
CHITAPUR
WADI
RUDRAIAH et al. : GROUNDWATER ZONES IN THE KAGNA RIVER BASIN 499
TABLE 1
Area statistics of different lithological units
Lithological units Area in sq km
Basalt 107
Basalt with intertrappeans with flows number 2 24
Fine grained flows No. 5 with intertrappeans marl
17
Green shale 66
Greenish yellow shale 1
Grey / pink granite 16
Laterite 9
Limestone 649
Migmatites and granodiorite - tonaltic gneiss 270
Pink and gray granite 25
Purple shale 77
Sandstone and conglomerate 57
Total area 1318
2. Data used
Geocoded false colour composite of bands of 2, 3, 4
of IRS -1C and 1D LISS- III and PAN data of 2001 on
1:50,000 scale were used to classify the
hydrogeomorphological units. The survey of India
toposheets (56 C/16, 56 G/4, 56 G/8, 56 H/1 and 56 H/5)
on 1:50,000 scale and field observation data were used to
extract information on the hydrogeomorphic features and
lineaments of the drainage basin (study area).
3. Methodology
The satellite imageries have been geo-referenced and
merged data using image processing software ERDAS
IMAGINE (v. 8.5) and thus merged data were used in the
present investigation. The hydrogeomorphic and
lineament maps including bore hole locations a were
prepared using satellite imagery by GIS techniques.
4. Results and discussions
This paper emphasizes the use of satellite remote
sensing data for preparation of thematic maps of
hydrogeomorphology and lineaments with bore well
locations to delineate the potential groundwater zones by
GIS soft wares.
4.1. Hydrogeomorphology
The hydrogeomorphological map (Fig. 1) has been
prepared based on specific tone, texture, size, shape and
TABLE 2
Area statistics of different hydrogeomorphic units
Descriptions of the hydrogeomorphic units Area in sq km
Butte 0.18
Channel Island 0.19
Escarpment slope 5.35
Mesa 0.80
Pediment 96.35
Pediment inselberg complex 14.30
Pediplain- moderate 91.46
Pediplain moderate under canal command 2.27
Pediplain-shallow 764.42
Plateau-highly dissected 25.76
Plateau- moderately dissected 32.47
Plateau-slightly dissected 65.22
Plateau-undissected 55.59
Plateau weathered 6.98
River/stream 20.53
Valley 51.76
Valley fill-shallow 84.37
Total 1318-00
association characteristics of remotely sensed data.
Hydrogeomorphologically, the study area is classified into
escarpment slope, pediments, pediment inselberg
complex, shallow pediplains, moderate pediplains, slightly
to highly dissected and undissected plateaus, valley and
shallow valley fills and the area covered by each
geomorphic units for all the sub-basins are presented in
Table 2.
Escarpment slope (5.35 sq km) is exhibited by the
severe erosion of shale at the contacts of limestone in the
western portion of Sedam sub-basin. Inselbergs occur as
smooth and rounded isolated hills abruptly rising above
the surrounding plains. They are made up of migmatites
and granodiorite-tonalite gneisses. Pediments dotted with
a number of inselbergs in these gneisses are called
pediment inselberg complex. They are confined only to
the southern portions of sedam sub-basin and they are
exposed around the Itakal village and occupy an area of
14.30 sq km. Pediments are exposed in the form of
undulating plains with moderate slope dotted with
outcrops of granites often covered with thin layers of soil
in all the four sub-basins (Wadi, Chitapur, Sedam and
Kurkunta) of the study area (Fig. 1). They are occupying
an area of 96.35 sq km. Shallow and moderately
weathered pediplains are the prominent units occupying
an area 855.88 sq km in the study area. These units are
500 MAUSAM, 59, 4 (October 2008)
Fig. 2. Lineament map with location of bore wells of the study area
noticed in all the sub-basins of the study area, mainly
in weathered zones of limestones followed by
gneisses, shale and granites. In shallow weathered
pediplains (764.42 sq km), the thickness of the weathered
zones vary from 5 m to 15 m as revealed by the field
checks in open wells, bore wells and exposures of these
rocks. Very deep, well drained clayey soils are noticed on
the undulating plains with moderate erosion in these units.
The thickness of the weathered zones of moderate
pediplains with moderate pediplains under canal
command (93.73 sq km) varies from 15 m to 20 m as
revealed by the borewell data. These units are confined to
all the sub-basins and observed all along the banks of the
valleys and also around the valleys. Maximum area is
occupied by these units is in the Sedam sub-basin. Very
shallow, well drained, loamy soils in valleys with severe
erosion are observed in these units. Highly dissected
plateau (25.76 sq km), moderately dissected plateau
(32.47 sq km), Slightly dissected plateau (65.22 sq km),
undisected plateau (55.59 sq km) and weathered plateau
(6.98 sq km) are confined to the portions of basalts of
Deccan plateau (traps) exposed in the southern and
southeastern parts of Sedam and Kurkunta sub-basins
(Fig. 1). In these units, moderately shallow, somewhat
exclusively drained gravely loam soils with moderate
erosion and associated with deep to very deep well
drained clayey soils are noticed. Shallow valley fills are
developed mainly in the limestone areas followed by
gneisses, granites and shale in all the sub-basins with the
maximum area occupied by the Chitapur sub-basin
(Fig. 1). The total area covered by these units is 84.37 sq
km followed by river/stream (20.53 sq km) and valleys
(51.76 sq km) in all the sub-basins, butte (0.18 sq km),
Chanel island (0.19 sq km) and mesa (0.80 sq km)
4.2. Lineaments
Lineaments are the most important structural features
from the point of view of occurrence and movement of
groundwater. They are the linear or curvilinear features
and play a vital role in geomorphic and structural analysis.
Lineaments in the form of fractures, joints, faults provide
important clue on surface features and are responsible for
infiltration of surface run off into the sub-surface and also
for movement and storage of groundwater (Subba Rao
et al., 2001). A detailed land form study made with LISS
III image and topographic maps suggested that Kagna
river drainage basin is characterized by highly permeable
sub-soil which is evident by broad valley zones and low
relief. The morphometric analysis of the drainage pattern
of both linear, areal and relief characteristics indicates the
dendritic to sub-dendritic patterns with stream orders IV
to VII with coarse to moderate texture (Rudraiah et al.,
2008).
The lineaments of the study area, were picked up by
visual interpretation of IRS 1C and 1B satellite imageries,
on the basis of tone, texture and drainage linearities,
curvilinearities and rectilinearities. The lineament map
representing mainly drainage lineaments and dykes of
individual sub-basins has been prepared and presented
(Fig. 2). The lineament analysis indicates that the majority
of lineaments are oriented in NNW, NW, EW, NNE and
NE directions. The length of the lineaments generally
Lineaments
Dykes
Waterbody
Studyarea
State boundary
ö
Borewell location
Sub-basin boundary
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ö ö ö
ö
ö
ö
öööö
öö
ö
ö
ö
ö
7
5
28
46
9
3
17 27 26
23
11
10 21
31
13 22
14 24
16
30
Kagna River
0 5 10 Km
N
Bhima River
16° 52'
76°
55' 77°
30' 16° 52'
76°
55'17° 15'
ANDRA PRADESH
WADI CHITAPUR SEDAM
KURKUNTA
RUDRAIAH et al. : GROUNDWATER ZONES IN THE KAGNA RIVER BASIN 501
Fig. 3. Groundwater potential zone map of the study area
range from 0.35 to 5.2 km. It is noted from the remote
sensing satellite imagery that the direction of the streams
are NNW, NW, EW, NNE and NE direction and coincide
with the direction of the lineaments. The lineaments
representing dykes are oriented in NW, NE and almost
EW directions. The lineaments identified in the
pediplains, pediment inselberg complex and pediments
and valley fill zones and plateau regions of the study area
indicate that they are controlling the river channels and
nallahs. It is also noticed from the lineament map that the
areas of maximum concentration and intersection of
lineaments indicate that these areas are the most probably
potential areas of groundwater accumulation. High
concentration of drainage lineaments is noticed in the
southern portions of the Sedam and Kurkunta sub-basins
where the gneisses, shale and Deccan basalts are the
prominent rock types, whereas low to moderate
concentration of lineaments is noticed in the limestones,
shales and younger granites confined to northern portion
of the Sedam sub-basin and also Wadi and Chitapur sub-
basins.
In the lineament map, the location of about 31
existing bore wells in all the four sub-basins of the study
area is presented (Fig. 2). It is noticed that majority of the
bore wells and the villages are situated nearer to the
drainage lineaments. Hence, it can be suggested that these
lineaments are acting as pathways for the movement and
storage of groundwater in the study area. Dykes are
confined only to migmatites and gneisses of the study area
mainly in the Sedam sub-basin. These dykes are
represented by dolerite and they are acting as barriers for
TABLE 3
Area statistics of different groundwater potential zones
Groundwater potential zones Area in sq km
Very good – good groundwater potential zones 235
Good – moderate groundwater potential zones 765
Moderate – poor groundwater potential zones 111
Poor – very poor groundwater potential zones 186
Water body 21
Total 1318
the movement of groundwater from south to north. This is
indicated by the absence of drainage lineaments around
the dolerite dykes.
4.3. Potential groundwater zones
The potential groundwater zones in the study area
are delineated based on the geology, soils,
hydrogeomorphic units, density of lineaments and bore
well locations. The occurrence and movement of
groundwater is restricted to weathered zones preferably
through the joints and interconnected fractures developed
in limestones, gneisses and the thick soil horizons and
highly weathered portions of Deccan basalts.
Four potential groundwater zones are identified
according to their water bearing capacity as very good to
good, good to moderate, moderate to poor and poor to
very poor. Potential groundwater zone map has been
prepared and presented (Fig. 3). The area covered by these
zones is presented in Table 3.
17° 15'
76°
55'
16° 52'
77°
30'
76°
55' 16° 52'
Bhima River
0 5 10 Km
N
Kagna River
Very good - Good
Good - Moderate
Moderate - Poor
Poor - Very poor
Waterbody
Sub-basin boundary
Studyarea
State boundary
WADI CHITAPUR SEDAM
KURKUNTA
502 MAUSAM, 59, 4 (October 2008)
The valley fill zones and moderately weathered
pediplains with high lineament density and presence of a
number of bore wells are considered to be very good to
good potential groundwater zones covering an area of
235 sq km in all the sub-basins of the study area.
The shallow weathered pediplains consisting of
mainly limestones and dissected and weathered plateau
regions of Deccan basalts are good to moderate potential
groundwater zones because of weathered mantle of these
rocks. The presences of most of the villages on these
rocks are due to its fairly good groundwater and soil
conditions. These zones cover an area of 765 sq km in all
the sub-basins of the study area.
The pediments contribute for a limited to moderate
recharge with low lineament density and the presence of
only a few number of bore wells in these zones indicating
that they are moderate to poor potential groundwater
zones covering an area of 111 sq km in all the sub-basins
of the study area.
The pediment inselberg complex and escarpment
slopes are confined to only Sedam and Kurkunta sub-
basins in the southeastern portion of the study area are
considered to be poor to very poor potential groundwater
zones. In these zones, the lineament density is very low
and there is no bore well data available for these zones.
5. Conclusions
The results of the present investigation indicates that
remote sensing and GIS techniques have been proved to
be very useful tools for delineating potential groundwater
zones based on the geology, soils, geomorphic units,
lineaments and bore well data. The lineament analysis
indicate that the majority of the lineaments are oriented in
NNW, NW, EW, NNE and NE directions which coincides
with the directions of the streams. Based on the presence
of maximum number of existing bore wells near the
lineaments indicate that the lineaments are considered to
be pathways for the accumulation and movement of
groundwater. Hydrogeomorphologically, the study area is
divided into escarpment slope, pediments, pediment
inselberg complex, shallow pediplains, moderate
pediplains, slightly to highly dissected and undissected
plateaus, valleys and valley fills. Based on the relationship
of these geomorphic units with the rock types, lineament
density and borewell locations, it is concluded that valley
fills and moderate pediplains are very good to good,
shallow pediplains and dissected plateaus are good to
moderate, pediments are moderate to poor and the
pediment inselberg complex and escarpment slopes are
poor to very poor potential groundwater zones.
Acknowledgement
One of the authors (M. Radraiah) is thankful to
Prof. H. T. Basavarajappa, Chairman, DOS in Geology,
Manasagangotri, University of Mysore, Mysore, for
providing laboratory facilities to complete this work.
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