Faculty Publications

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    Tropical, Seasonal River Basin Development through a Series of Vented Dams
    (2011) Shetkar, R.V.; Mahesha, A.
    Tropical rivers are predominantly seasonal in nature, and managing water resources during the deficit period is becoming more difficult because of the rapidly increasing demand for water. The present investigation focuses on harvesting Netravathi River water in the southern Indian peninsula through a series of vented dams with an estimated storage capacity of 102 Mm3 for use during the deficit period. A brief hydraulic design of a vented dam at a specific location is presented. The spacing and capacity of these reservoirs were worked out on the basis of the dam height and the river characteristics. The proposed vented dams are seasonal dams, and the closure of the vents will be decided on the flow available (i.e., 95% dependable flow), the storage capacity, and the minimum water release required for the downstream ecosystem. The appropriate time to start storing water in the vented dams was estimated to be in the month of November, and the entire process of storing water in the vented dams may last for about 41 days. An operational protocol for the storing process is presented. The investigations of aquifer parameters were performed by using electrical resistivity, pumping, and soil tests. The results indicated that the aquifer is shallow, unconfined in nature, and had a depth ranging from 18 to 30 m and hydraulic conductivity ranging from 62.6 to 406 m/day. A multiple regression model developed to assess the groundwater recharge in the adjoining well fields indicated that water table fluctuations may be 30% of reservoir level fluctuations. Because the river is also tidal in nature, a saltwater exclusion dam is proposed at the lower reaches of the river to prevent the entry of saltwater along the river during the summer period. © 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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    Spatial variation in drainage characteristics and geomorphic instantaneous unit hydrograph (GIUH); implications for watershed management-A case study of the Varada River basin, Northern Karnataka
    (2011) Bhagwat, T.N.; Shetty, A.; Hegde, V.S.
    Geomorphological characteristics can be treated as signatures of hydrological responses. Geomorphologic instantaneous unit hydrograph (GIUH) is of utmost use in planning watershed management programs on a broad scale in absence of hydrologic data. Fifth order basins from different agroclimatic zones in the Varada River basin were selected to understand the spatial variation in drainage characteristics. These sub-basins show significant differences in their morphometric properties such as basin area, drainage density, bifurcation ratio, circularity ratio, constant of channel maintenance etc. These differences reflect variation in the hydrological process and geomorphologic instantaneous unit hydrograph (GIUH) of different sub-basins and can be used to understand watershed management aspects. Fifth order sub-basin in the Southern Transition agroclimatic zone is potential for artificial recharge programs. Sub-basins in the Hilly non-forest zone on the north are ideal for surface water storage like tank development program while Forested Hilly zone on the north are environmentally sensitive and prone to erosion. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.
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    Quantifying aquifer properties and freshwater resource in coastal barriers: A hydrogeophysical approach applied at Sasihithlu (Karnataka state, India)
    (2012) Vouillamoz, J.-M.; Hoareau, J.; Grammare, M.; Caron, D.; Nandagiri, L.; Legchenko, A.
    Many human communities living in coastal areas in Africa and Asia rely on thin freshwater lenses for their domestic supply. Population growth together with change in rainfall patterns and sea level will probably impact these vulnerable groundwater resources. Spatial knowledge of the aquifer properties and creation of a groundwater model are required for achieving a sustainable management of the resource. This paper presents a ready-to-use methodology for estimating the key aquifer properties and the freshwater resource based on the joint use of two non-invasive geophysical tools together with common hydrological measurements.

    We applied the proposed methodology in an unconfined aquifer of a coastal sandy barrier in South-Western India. We jointly used magnetic resonance and transient electromagnetic soundings and we monitored rainfall, groundwater level and groundwater electrical conductivity. The combined interpretation of geophysical and hydrological results allowed estimating the aquifer properties and mapping the freshwater lens. Depending on the location and season, we estimate the freshwater reserve to range between 400 and 700 L m??'2 of surface area (A± 50%). We also estimate the recharge using time lapse geophysical measurements with hydrological monitoring. After a rainy event close to 100% of the rain is reaching the water table, but the net recharge at the end of the monsoon is less than 10% of the rain. Thus, we conclude that a change in rainfall patterns will probably not impact the groundwater resource since most of the rain water recharging the aquifer is flowing towards the sea and the river. However, a change in sea level will impact both the groundwater reserve and net recharge. © Author(s) 2012.
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    Ground water potential assessment of Haladi River basin in Westernghat of Udupi district, Karnataka, India
    (2013) Mahadeve Gowda, S.K.; Nagaraj, M.K.
    For a sustainable development of water resources, it is imperative to make a quantitative estimation of the available water resources. It is necessary to maintain the groundwater reservoir in a state of Dynamic equilibrium over a period of time and the water level fluctuations have to be kept within a particular range over the monsoon and non-monsoon seasons. Groundwater is a dynamic system. The total annual replenishable resource is around 43 M ha-m. The development and over-exploitation of groundwater resources have raised the concern and need for judicious and scientific resource management and conservation. Among the two major water resources, surface and ground water, it is the ground water resource, which needs to be managed carefully, especially in drought prone areas. To assess the groundwater potential, a suitable and accurate technique is required for a meaningful and objective analysis. A critical study is carried out on the different methods of estimating the groundwater potential and compared to arrive the most suitable technique for practical utility. In this work, five methods of estimating groundwater recharge were studied viz., 1. Yearly water level fluctuation 2. Ten year average water level fluctuation 3. Fluctuation between the lowest and highest water levels over ten years 4. Relationship between rainfall and recharge Method. The results of this study helps in accurate prediction of groundwater availability, which in turn may avoid groundwater over exploitation and help to restore the eco-systems. © 2013 CAFET-INNOVA TECHNICAL SOCIETY.
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    Predictive Simulation of Seawater Intrusion in a Tropical Coastal Aquifer
    (American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) onlinejls@asce.org, 2016) Lathashri, U.A.; Mahesha, A.
    The solute transport in a tropical, coastal aquifer of southern India is numerically simulated considering the possible cases of aquifer recharge, freshwater draft, and seawater intrusion using numerical modeling software. The aquifer considered for the study is a shallow, unconfined aquifer with lateritic formations having good monsoon rains up to about 3,000 mm during June to September and the rest of the months almost dry. The model is calibrated for a two-year period and validated against the available dataset, which gave satisfactory results. The groundwater flow pattern during the calibration period shows that for the month of May a depleted water table and during the monsoon month of August a saturated water table was predicted. The sensitivity analysis of model parameters reveals that the hydraulic conductivity and recharge rate are the most sensitive parameters. Based on seasonal investigation, the seawater intrusion is found to be more sensitive to pumping and recharge rates compared to the aquifer properties. The water balance study confirms that river seepage and rainfall recharge are the major input to the aquifer. The model is used to forecast the landward movement of seawater intrusion because of the anticipated increase in freshwater draft scenarios in combination with the decreased recharge rate over a longer period. The results of the predictive simulations indicate that seawater intrusion may still confine up to a distance of approximately 450-940 m landward for the scenarios considered and thus are sustainable. © 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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    Application of remote sensing and GIS for identification of potential ground water recharge sites in Semi-arid regions of Hard-rock terrain, in north Karnataka, South India
    (Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2018) Bhagwat, T.N.; Hegde, V.S.; Shetty, A.
    Hydro-geomorphological characteristics, together with soil, slope, lineament density and Land use Land cover are signatures of potential ground water recharge areas, and are vital for water harvesting. In the present paper, Fifth order sub-basins in Semi-arid regions of the Varada River basin in South India is studied for selection of suitable area for recharge and prioritize the sub-basins using Indian Remote Sensing satellite (IRS) P6; Linear Imaging Self Scanning Sensor (LISS III) and ArcGIS 9.2. The Fifth order sub-basins of the Varada River spread in Hard-rock terrain and of different agro-climatic zones. The study shows that there are significant spatial variations in the fifth order basins with respect to their morphometric characteristics such as the basin area, drainage density, bifurcation ratio, and circularity ratio, constant of channel maintenance and slope of the basin. These variations reflect the differences in the hydrological process in the different Sub-basins. Based on the variations in the linear, aerial, relief as well as the slope, lineament density, and precipitation pattern rankings are assigned for each parameter with respect to ground water recharge within the Subbasins. Weighted sum overlay for precipitation, Land use, soil and Water table fluctuation are used to select the suitable areas of recharge within the sub-basins. Buffers created for lineaments and drainage networks were intersected with the suitable area of recharge for the probable tank's locations for recharge. The tank locations identified after intersection and having higher stream orders are further filtered for the identification of potential sites for ground water recharge. In the prioritized sub-basins SB-8, SB-10, SB-11 locations have been selected for recharge. © 2018, Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature.
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    An Integrated Geohydrology and Geomorphology Based Subsurface Solid Modelling for Site Suitability of Artificial Groundwater Recharge: Bhalki Micro-watershed, Karnataka
    (Springer, 2020) Saicharan, V.S.; Naga Jyothi, B.; Saha, R.; Wankhede, T.; Das, I.C.; Venkatesh, J.
    The groundwater resources of basaltic terrains in peninsular India are decreasing rapidly, due to indiscriminate extraction without considering the recharge capabilities of an aquifer. The main focus of the present study is to develop a good perceptive of the groundwater recharge capabilities in basaltic terrains for long term groundwater sustainability. In the present study 3D aquifer solid model of the sub-surface was integrated with surface variables like geomorphology, lineament density, drainage density, slope, land use along with lithology and soil, derived from earth observation (EO) data. This gives a robust platform to find the complex geology of the study area for facilitating artificial groundwater recharge. The methodology adopted provides an opportunity to integrate all the groundwater-related data for a better understanding of the groundwater and surface water interplay in terms of recharge phenomena. The research signified three categories of recharge zones ‘highly-suitable’; ‘moderately-suitable’; and ‘unsuitable’. The recharge zones are found to be in accord with the observed pre and post-monsoon groundwater table signifying the validity of the model. This study would be helpful to delineate groundwater recharge plan in similar geological provinces for ensuring the balance of groundwater resources. © 2020, GEOL. SOC. INDIA.
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    Applications of geospatial analysis and analytical hierarchy process to identify the groundwater recharge potential zones and suitable recharge structures in the Ajani-Jhiri watershed of north Maharashtra, India
    (Elsevier B.V., 2022) Sahu, U.; Wagh, V.; Mukate, S.; Kadam, A.; Patil, S.
    The present study undertakes the integration of hydrogeological, geospatial and multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) techniques to identify groundwater recharge potential zones and suitable recharge structures in parts of the Ajani-Jhiri watershed of the Tapi river basin, north Maharashtra, India. Hydrogeological thematic layers include drainage density, lineament density, geology, geomorphology, land use/landcover, soil and slope, which are the demarcating factors in identification of potential recharge sites of the watershed. An analytical hierarchy process model based on MCDA methodologies was adapted to determine the overall weightage distribution for individual layers for weighted overlay to be executed in GIS environment. Groundwater recharges potential zones are divided into high, moderate, and low classes. Results showed that only 272.72 km2 (38.02%) area has high recharge potential, while 316.94 km2 (44.07%) has moderate groundwater recharge potential. The low groundwater potential recharge zone (129.35 km2; 17.98%) is located in the southern part of the watershed, which is mountainous terrain. Locations of new recharge structures, including six stream bunds, five check dams and two percolation tanks are recommended to meet the regional domestic and agricultural needs. The water bodies in the region are partially silted with loose materials, hence three desiltation tanks proposed. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.