Vulnerability mapping of the Paravanar sub-basin aquifer (Tamil Nadu, India) in SINTACS model for efficient land use planning

Vishal Easwer; Srinivasa Raju Kolanuvada; Thirumalaivasan Devarajan; Prabhakaran Moorthy; Logesh Natarajan; Lakshumanan Chokkalingam; Priyadarsi Debajyoti Roy

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2021.112069

Vulnerability mapping of the Paravanar sub-basin aquifer (Tamil Nadu, India) in SINTACS model for efficient land use planning

Environ Res. 2022 Mar;204(Pt B):112069. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.112069. Epub 2021 Sep 20.

Authors

Vishal Easwer¹, Srinivasa Raju Kolanuvada¹, Thirumalaivasan Devarajan¹, Prabhakaran Moorthy², Logesh Natarajan², Lakshumanan Chokkalingam³, Priyadarsi Debajyoti Roy⁴

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Remote Sensing, Anna University, Chennai, India.
² Centre for Disaster Management and Coastal Research, Department of Remote Sensing, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, India.
³ Centre for Disaster Management and Coastal Research, Department of Remote Sensing, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, India. Electronic address: drlaks@bdu.ac.in.
⁴ Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad de Mexico, CP 04510, Mexico.

PMID: 34555406
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.112069

Abstract

Consideration of groundwater vulnerability as a planning parameter is imperative in the current context of depleting groundwater resources for the efficient land use planning. This study aims for groundwater vulnerability assessment by modifying SINTACS model and involve dynamics of land use change in a case study of Paravanar sub-basin in the Tamil Nadu state of south India. Thematic maps of land use generated from remote sensing data and associated field investigations were the input for the SINTACS model. These maps integrated in GIS helped to derive intrinsic vulnerability into very low, low, medium and high vulnerability categories. The strongest correlation (r = 0.74) between intrinsic vulnerability index and the water quality index, estimated from field observations, suggested better efficiency of this model compared to the conventional SINTACS index. Application of the modified SINTACS led to the conclusion that 12.2%, 28.7%, 45.9%, and 13.1% of the study area categorized very low vulnerability, low vulnerability, moderate vulnerability and high vulnerability, respectively and should be considered for efficient land use planning.

Keywords: GIS; Groundwater vulnerability; India; Modified SINTACS model; Water quality index.

MeSH terms

Environmental Monitoring*
Groundwater*
India
Water Quality