Geo Electrical and Geospatial Investigations for Groundwater in parts of East Godavari District Andhra Pradesh India an integrated approach

Abstract

newline Preface newlineFinding the location of groundwater zones, particularly in hard rock terrain is not an newlineeasy task considering the complexities of the geological and geomorphological features. It is newlinewell known that there is a severe dearth of groundwater in hard rock terrains. Groundwater newlineresources need to be managed with appropriate methods in regions where existing. This issue newlineis especially critical in regions with limited water resources such as areas combining dry newlineclimatic conditions and groundwater resources located in aquifers with low storage capacity. newlineA limited amount of groundwater is trapped by the fracturing or faulting of this hard rock. newlineThe regions, particularly the areas under Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt are facing severe newlinewater crisis both for drinking and agriculture. The people living in these areas are treated as newlinebackward both socially and economically. This situation occurs in the study area, which is newlinemainly composed of hard rock (Khondalite and Granite gneiss of Eastern Ghat Mobile Belt) newlineaquifers under semi-arid climatic conditions. The presence of impervious hard rocks and newlinethick clay layers in the subsurface are acting as barriers for groundwater accumulation and newlinemovement. The meager resources of water available are not sufficient for the required levels. newlineTo meet the increased demand in both domestic and agricultural needs, it is necessary to newlineinvestigate the sources of groundwater bearing aquifers in the study area with geoelectrical newlineand geospatial techniques. newlineGeophysical techniques are very useful in investigating groundwater potential zones. newlineParticularly electrical resistivity methods are the important, economic, and widely used newlinetechniques in groundwater exploration. Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) techniques are newlineused to have the information on the vertical variation of resistivity. The VES data is newlineinterpreted to know the true resistivity and thicknesses of different subsurface layers. newlineNumerous interpretation techniques are available in the literature to interpret the Vertical newlineElec