BCLE216L WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

MODULE 3
Water Resources Assessment
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

Network design-Stream flow gauging-Weir

design-Gauges-Current gauging-Salt dilution-
Geophysical exploration-Test drilling-Application
of remote sensing technique
https://grindgi
s.com/remote-
sensing/17- Dr. S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI
differences- ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
between- SCHOOL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
passive-and- VIT, VELLORE
active-remote-
[email protected]
sensing
 Water resources Assessment
According to the WMO (World Meteorological
Organization)/UNESCO International Glossary of
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

Hydrology (2012), Water Resources Assessment

(WRA) is the "determination of the sources, extent,
dependability and quality of water resources for their
utilization and control.", and of the human activities
that affect those resources (Young et al., 1994).

It has also been described as the “systematic study of

the current status and future trends in both water
resources and water supply services, with a particular
focus on issues relating to availability, accessibility
and demand” (Batchelor et al., 2005).
https://community.wmo.int/en/activity-areas/water-resources-assessment
 Need for hydrological information
To provide information to decision makers on the
status and trends of a country’s water resources. Such
information may be required for:
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

(a) Assessing a country’s water resources (quantity, quality,

distribution in time and space), the potential for water-related
development, and the ability to supply actual or foreseeable
demands
(b) Planning, designing, and operating water projects;
(c) Assessing the environmental, economic, and social
impacts of water resource management practices, existing and
proposed, and adopting sound policies and strategies;
(d) Assessing the impacts on water resources of other non-
water sector activities, such as urbanization or forest
harvesting; or
(e) Providing security for people and property against water-
related hazards, particularly floods and droughts.
 Network Design
A hydrological-data network is a group of data-collection activities
that are designed and operated to address a single objective or a set
of compatible objectives. There can be surface-water network,
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

groundwater network, precipitation network, or water quality

network.

https://live.staticflickr.com/7469/15408170133_6dac196882_b.jpg
 Kinds of data collected at climatological and hydrometric stations in
the Network
Climatological Data Hydrological Data
• Precipitation, • Streamflow stations
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

• snow survey • River stage (level of water)

• Evaporation • Lake and Reservoir stage
• temperature, • Sediment discharge and
• humidity and sedimentation
• wind • Water quality station
• Water temperature
• Ice cover on rivers and lakes
• Groundwater observations
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT
Framework for Network Analysis
 Institutional set-up:
The roles and aims of various aspects of water resources management should be
defined and identified (particularly legislative responsibilities)
Purposes of the network:
The purposes of the network in terms of the users and uses (Surface
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

water/Groundwater/Quality) of the data should be identified.

Objectives of the networks:
Based on the purpose of the network, an objective or set of objectives can be
established in terms of the information required.
Establish priorities:
If there is more than one objective, priorities need to be set for later evaluation. If all
objectives can be met within the budget, then this is not needed.
Assess existing networks
Information on the existing network should be compiled and interpreted to
determine if the current networks fulfil the objectives. This may include
comparisons with other basins and/or networks.
Network design
Depending on the available information and the objectives defined, the most
appropriate network-design technique or techniques should be applied. This may be
simple hydrological characteristics, regression relationships, or more complex
network analysis using generalized least squares (NAUGLS) methods
 Optimize operations
A significant portion of the cost of data collection is contained within the
operational procedures. This includes the types of instruments, frequencies
of station visits, and structure of field trips. The minimum-cost operational
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

procedures should be adopted. The process adopted should allow the

designer to express the impact of insufficient funding in terms of not
meeting objectives or reduced information and net impacts.
Implementation
The re-designed network needs to be implemented in a planned manner.
This will include both short- and long-term planning horizons.
Review networks
Number of the above components are variable in time, a review can be
required at the instigation of any particular component — for example,
changes in users or uses or changes in the budget. To be ready to meet such
changes, a continuing review process is essential
The minimum network should consist of three kinds of gauges:
a. Standard gauges b. Recorders c. Storage Device
 Specific requirements for water quality
• Existing water problems and conditions
• Potential growth centers (industrial and
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

municipal)
• Population trends
• Climate, geography and geology;
• Accessibility:
• Available manpower, funding, field and
laboratory data handling facilities
• Travel time to the laboratory (for deteriorating
samples);
• Safety of personnel
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

2. Stream flow gauging

 STREAM GAUGING
The purpose of stream
gauging stations is to
provide systematic
records of stage (Water
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

level) and discharge

(How much water is
flowing in a given time).
Continuous streamflow
records are necessary in
the design of water
supply and waste
systems, in designing
hydraulic structures, in
the operations of water
management systems
(irrigation water
diversion), flood warning
and in estimating the
sediment or chemical
loads of streams,
including pollutants.
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 Selection of sites for Stream flow measurements
(a) Stream should be straight for about 100 meters upstream
and downstream from the gauge site;
(b) The total flow is confined to one channel at all stages and
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

no flow bypasses the site as sub-surface flow;

(c) The stream bed is not subject to scour and fill and is free of
aquatic growth;
(d) Banks are permanent, high enough to contain floods
(e) A site is available, just upstream from the control, for
housing the stage recorder where the potential for damage
by water-borne debris is minimal during flood stages. The
elevation of the stage recorder itself should be above any
flood likely to occur during the life of the station;
(f) The site is readily accessible for ease in the installation and
operation of the gauging station
(g) Facilities for telemetry or satellite relay can be made
available, if required
 Stream flow measurements
Measurement of discharge and stage
• Weir (V-notch, broad-crested, sharp-crested) – Discharge
Measurement
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

• Current gauging (Discharge measurements of a stream or

canal without an established stream gauge can be made using
a current meter)
• Gauges (Staff (head) gauge) General Understanding

River width are very wide, quantity of

water flowing through the river
cannot be measurement along the
wide width, in such a case wherever
the river is narrow in that place, a
concrete structure with small notch (
V or rectangular shape) made up of
concrete or thin iron plates are placed.
Hydraulic measurements are made on
WEIR
this plate.
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT
Weir design

Rectangular notches are generally preferred, but triangular notches can be used for
low flows or large variations in flow range
Weir
Weirs are generally used for measuring the discharge of small rivers
and canals. A weir is a barrier across the width of a river or stream that
alters the characteristics of the flow and usually results in a change in the
height of the water level or In other words, a weir is essentially a partial
dam. It works by raising the water level upstream of the weir, and then
forcing the water to spill over. Sharp-crested weirs, commonly referred
to as notches, are manufactured from sharp-edged thin plates. The
relationship between the flow rate and water depth above the weir can be
derived by applying the Bernoulli’s equation and by making some
assumptions with regard to head loss and pressure distribution of the
flow passing over the weir.
 Criteria for Weir Design (https://cclynch.com/criteria-for-proper-weir-design/)
• The weir should consist of a thin plate of 3 to 6 mm thick with a
straight edge or a thicker plate with downstream chamfered (45
degree angle for the free flow of water to the D/S side) edge.
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

• The upstream face of the weir should be smooth and perpendicular to

the axis of the channel in both horizontal and vertical directions.

• The connection of the weir to the channel should be waterproof.

• The length of the weir crest or the notch angle must be accurately
determined, because the percentage error in measured flow rate will
be proportional to the error in determining these dimensions.

• The height of the weir from the bottom of the channel to the crest
should be at least 2 times the maximum expected head of liquid above
the crest. This is necessary to lower the velocity of approach.

• The approach section should be straight upstream from the weir for a
distance of at least 20 times the maximum expected head of liquid,
and should have little or no slope.
 Criteria for Weir Design
• The weir size should be selected only after
preliminary studies have determined the expected
flow rates in the channel in question.
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

• The cross sectional area of the approach channel

should be at least 8 times that of the nappe at the
crest for a distance upstream of 15 to 20 times the
head on the crest. This is necessary to minimize
the velocity of approach.
• If the weir pool is smaller than defined by the
above criteria, the velocity of approach may be too
high and the head reading too low. Weirs should
be installed and maintained to make the velocity of
approach negligible. Appropriate corrections
should be made where this is not possible.
 CURRENT GAUGING

An accurate method of measuring

flow is using a current meter
In this method, the stream channel
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

cross section is divided into

numerous vertical subsections. In
each subsection, the area is obtained
by measuring the width and depth
of the subsection, and the water
velocity is determined using a
current meter. The discharge in each
subsection is computed by
multiplying the subsection area by
the measured velocity. The total
discharge is then computed by
summing the discharge of each
subsection.
 • Subsection width is generally
measured using a cable, steel tape, or
similar piece of equipment.
• The velocity of the streamflow can be
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

measured using a current meter. The

most common current meter used by
the USGS is the Price AA current
meter. The Price AA current meter has
a wheel of six metal cups that revolve
around a vertical axis.
Mechanical current meter

An electronic signal is transmitted by the meter on each

revolution allowing the revolutions to be counted and timed.
Because the rate at which the cups revolve is directly related to
the velocity of the water, the timed revolutions are used to
determine the water velocity.
The Price AA meter is designed to be attached to a wading rod
for measuring in shallow waters or to be mounted just above a
weight suspended from a cable and reel system for measuring in
fast or deep water.
 Gauges
Manual Gauge (Stage measurement)
• The simplest form of a stream gauge is the staff
gauge.
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

• These are usually of steel, enameled and bolted to

a fixed iron post.
• They must be read manually. This is subject to
the availability of a gauge observer at least once
or twice a day, and more frequently during flood
events
• The staff gauges can also be used to check the
measurements taken using automatic recorders
(cross check)
• And there positioning should be checked to
correct for sediment deposits or erosion which
may affect the calibration.
 Automatic Stream Gauge
Most U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
stream gauges measure stage and
consist of a structure in which
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

instruments used to measure, store, and https://marvel-b1-cdn.bc0a.com/f00000000170758/www.ysi.com/image%20library/parameters/level/shaft-encoder-water-level-gage-station.jpg

transmit the stream-stage information

are housed.
1. STILLING WELL
One common approach is with a
stilling well in the river bank or
attached to a bridge pier. Water from
the river enters and leaves the stilling
well through underwater pipes allowing
the water surface in the stilling well to
be at the same elevation as the water
surface in the river. The stage is then
measured inside the stilling well using
a float or a pressure, optic, or acoustic Stilling Well
sensor. The measured stage value is
stored in an electronic data recorder on
a regular interval, usually every 15
minutes.
 2. PRESSURED GAS STREAM
GAUGE
At some stream gauge sites, a
stilling well is not feasible or is
not cost effective to install. As
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

an alternative, stage can be

determined by measuring the
pressure required to maintain a
small flow of gas through a tube
and bubbled out at a fixed
location under water in the
stream. The measured pressure is
directly related to the height of
water over the tube outlet in the
stream. As the depth of water Pressured gas to measure the stage of
above the tube outlet increases, the stream. (Courtesy of USGS)
more pressure is required to push
the gas bubbles through the tube.
 Salt Dilution

• Salt dilution or tracers can be used to estimate

S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

flows for small rivers.

• Either a radioactive tracer or color dye or
soluble salt can be used.
• Either continuous dosing or gulp dilution can be
used.
• The easiest method is to dissolve salt (sodium
chloride) in water and, then dump a measured
mass of the solution into a river and measure
concentrations downstream.
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT
Salt dilution

Soluble salt Tracer

Tracer Conductivity Conductivity

Injection Sensors Sensors

Conductivity
Sensors
Conductivity
Sensors
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT
The flow rate of the river is calculated as follows:
 PROCEDURE FOR SALT DILUTION
• The quantity of salt to be used should be at least 20 kg per m3 /s
of estimated river flow.
• A quantity of about 20 kg salt is dissolved in 80 lit of water in a
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

bucket.
• The concentration of water without salt and also with salt is
measured, so that both can be used as data.
• Conductivity (in milli Siemens per meter mS/m) or salt
concentration (TDS in mg/l) is measured
• Plot concentrations of salt measured, or conductivity, and
integrate (add) the area under the curve. Correct for background
concentration.
• This method needs a team of three people. One to take samples
across the river downstream, one to pour the solution upstream,
and one to be timekeeper for injecting and taking samples
downstream.
• Sample at least 100 m downstream per 10 m of river width.
Waterproof felt-type pens are needed to mark the plastic bottles
(at least 50 number 200ml bottles are needed).
 Remote Sensing
Remote sensing refers to the act of recording information about the
earth’s surface by the use of sensors attached to satellites.
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

In remote sensing, the sun is the ultimate source of energy, which is very
useful for illumination. The objects on the earth reflects the energy. The
sensors consist of an electronic circuit with optical components that can
record reflected electromagnetic radiation from different objects.

Satellites have imaging sensors used to monitor the earth through

imagery collection. Sensors consist of an electronic circuit with optical
components that can record reflected electromagnetic radiation from
different objects.

Remote sensing plays a vital role in collecting information over large

surface areas, characterizing natural features on the earth, observing and
monitoring the earth and objects changes over time, and avail this
information for processing and analysis.
 ELECTRO MAGNETIC SPECTRUM RANGE FROM GAMMA
RAYS TO RADIO WAVES
(https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/57384 - For more Theory)
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

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 APPLICATION OF REMOTE SENSING TECHNIQUE (RST)
https://hindi.indiawaterportal.org/articles/application-remote-sensing-water-quality-and-water-resources-management-overview

• Remote Sensing, coupled with Geographic Information System

(GIS), is a powerful tool for monitoring of water quality and
water quantity.
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

• Satellite imageries obtained from Landsat Thematic Mapper

(TM), Linear Imaging and Self Scanning (LISS) and Wide
Field Sensor (WiFS) have been used extensively for
calculation of drainage basin area, drainage density,
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Leaf
Water Content Index (LWCI).
• Water quality parameters like Total Suspended Solids,
turbidity, chlorophyll content, colour, temperature etc. by using
the Visible, Reflected Infrared and occasionally Thermal
Infrared bands of the Electro Magnetic Spectrum.
• Remote Sensing techniques have been used in sustainable
management of water resources, which include runoff and
hydrological modeling, flood management, watershed
management, drought management and management of
Irrigation Command Areas.
 Passive and Active Remote Sensing
• The sensors which are used to sense the earth can fall
into two categories which are active or passive sensors.
• Passive sensors measure the energy naturally emitted,
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

and the sunlight is the primary source of energy used.

• Simultaneously, Active remote sensing systems
generate their own electromagnetic energy source for
illumination to the target and record the backscattered
radiation from the target.

• Passive remote sensors include radiometer, cameras

“which can be both passive and active, “and
spectrometers, while Active remote sensors include x-
ray, radars, and lidars. Remote sensing is beneficial in
various fields such as land survey, geography, and earth
science disciplines.
 Difference between active and passive RS
1. Source of Energy
Active remote sensing uses its energy source to illuminate electromagnetic radiation to the target and
record the reflected radiation measurement. In contrast, passive remote sensing has to use naturally
occurring energy that illuminates the target and reflects the electromagnetic radiation to the remote senor
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

to record the electromagnetic radiation. The primary source of energy in passive remote sensing is
sunlight.
2. Time of Recording

Passive remote sensing can only function when the natural energy source is available, i.e., in most cases,
the sun is only present during the daytime, limiting the working timeframe. However, active remote
sensing can measure radiation anytime despite what time of day, night, or season since they have their
energy source, which emits their electromagnetic radiation to obtain a measurement, hence strong
capabilities of collecting imagery day and night.
3. Weather Conditions

Active remote sensing is not affected by poor weather conditions since it emits its energy directly to the
target with no interference by adverse weather. However, Passive remote sensing is significantly affected
by adverse weather conditions like heavy clouds, which may block enough sunlight illuminating the
target; hence, remote sensors cannot capture the correct reading of the electromagnetic radiation reflected.
4. Radiation

Active and passive sensors have a difference in electromagnetic radiation and are distinguished by bands
and wavelength measurements. Active remote sensing can be characterized by the wavelength of the
electromagnetic radiation emitted, while passive remote sensing is distinguished by the number of bands
 5. Imagery

Passive remote sensing is preferred for satellite imagery since it delivers excellent
imaging quality through technologies such as hyperspectral and multispectral, unlike the
quality delivered by Active remote sensing hence used for aerial photography. Passive
sensors are great in technical observation of the earth’s surface.
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

6. Noise

Active remote sensing has more control of noise originating from the source of the
electromagnetic radiation and reflection of the target through control of the injected
signal, unlike passive remote sensing, which offers less noise control. The source of
energy, primarily the sun, is out of control of the surveyor.
7. Imaging Angles

Active remote sensing allows for shallow look angles that create different target
perspectives, giving more accurate readings of the ground object, while passive remote
sensing delivers less accurate measurement readings of ground objects due to variation in
sunlight affected by weather conditions.

8. Amount of Energy

Active remote sensing requires a large amount of energy to generate adequate

electromagnetic radiation for illumination. However, passive remote sensing only
requires sunlight to obtain reflection of electromagnetic radiation, to record
measurements from the illuminated object.
 9. Penetration Capacity

Active remote sensing allows for radiation penetration through vegetation, water
bodies, soil, and snow and is excellent in collecting earth surface information and is
not hindered by any weather condition; unlike Passive remote sensing, which is
excellent at collecting satellite images of the earth and affected by adverse weather
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

conditions.

10. Satellites

Active remote sensing relies on the latest technology models of satellites which may
prove very costly and complex to operate and maintain, while passive remote
sensing uses radiation signals from old satellites that are easy to operate.
11. Areas of Survey

Passive remote sensing focuses on land use, land cover analysis, and small-scale
mapping requirements. On the other hand, active remote sensing targets areas like
flooding, geological data, volcanic eruptions, earthquake disaster management, soil
study, and mapping of mineral zones.

12. Survey Data

Active remote sensing requires a surveyor to cross-verify the vast amount of field
data survey and better depth control of fake signals transmitted, while passive
remote sensing requires the surveyor to record a naturally occurring field.
 13. Quantity of Data

Active remote sensing can generate large quantities of data from various sources used for
generating a detailed interpretation of the earth’s surface, while passive remote sensing has
small data sets collected and does not allow for detailed interpretation of information acquired.
14. Time of Data Interpretation
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

Passive remote sensing allows for quick, efficient, and practical interpretations of data with
less computational needs, unlike Active remote sensing, where a large quantity of data is
collected and may prove overwhelming to compute, process, interpret and present.

15. Orbits Followed

Active remote sensing revolves around near-polar orbits and has high accuracy in both lateral
and longitudinal directions. Passive remote sensing follows geostationary orbits positioned
over exact location and time.
16. Electromagnetic Radiation Energy

Active remote sensing transmits and measures the electromagnetic radiation emitted and
reflected, while passive remote sensing only measures the reflected radiation from the target.
17. Temperature

Active remote sensing can measure temperature independent of the light source or changes in
the weather conditions, but passive remote sensing is sensitive to weather conditions which
may affect accurate measurements of temperature.
 Water and its Spectral Reflectance
Water has very low spectral reflectance in the visible part of the Electro
Magnetic Region (EMR) whereas snow or ice has very high spectral
reflectance in visible and near infrared (NIR) part of the EMR.
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

Pure water absorbs nearly all incident energy in both the near infrared
and middle infrared (MIR) wavelengths. The low reflectance of water in
visible and NIR band has advantage in Remote Sensing as water
becomes clearly distinguishable from either vegetation or soil cover
throughout the reflective infrared portion.

Total Radiance (Rt) recorded by a Remote Sensing system over a water

body is a function of the electromagnetic energy and is given by the
equation:
Rt = Rp + Rs + Rv + Rbwhere,
Rp = Atmospheric Path Radiance;
Rs = Free-surface Layer Reflectance
Rv = Subsurface Volumetric Reflectance
Rb = Bottom Reflectance
 Remote Sensing and Water quality
• The sources of pollution are varied and are often
unpredictable, both in time and in magnitude.
• Spectral properties of water vary due to the impurities
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

present in the water body.

• Spectral signature (or Spectral Response Pattern) of water is
dependent on a number of factors viz. time of the year, sun
elevation angle, aerosol and molecular content of
atmosphere, water vapour content of the atmosphere,
specular reflection of skylight from water surface, roughness
of water surface, water colour and content of dissolved
coloured material in water, characteristics of water surface
(film, foam, debris or floating plant), reflectance and
absorbance characteristics of suspended particles, multiple
reflections and scattering of solar energy in water, depth of
water and reflectance of bottom sediment, submerged or
emerged vegetation and turbidity of water.
 • The advantages of Remote Sensing like synoptic
coverage, near real time data base generation and
availability of multispectral, hyper spectral and multi
temporal data, can be used effectively for water quality
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

assessment and monitoring.

• Physical characteristics of water quality (Color,
temperature) can be ascertained through satellite
imagery.
• Visible and infrared (reflected) parts of the EMR are
most favorable for monitoring of water quality.
• Thermal Infrared (TIR) is also used occasionally for
measuring water quality parameters
• Microwave region of the EMR is not very useful for
water quality assessment due to its limited penetration
depth. However, it is useful for detecting oil slicks, oil
spills or other surface contamination.
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

Remote Sensing
Techniques in
Water Quality
Monitoring
 RST IN RUNOFF AND HYDROLOGICAL MODELLING
• Although it is not possible to directly measure surface runoff by Remote Sensing
techniques, they can be used in research areas like
– (a) determining watershed geometry, drainage network and other map-type
information for distributed hydrologic models and for determining empirical
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

flood peak, annual runoff or low flow equations and

– (b) providing input data like soil moisture or delineated land use classes,
which are used for determining runoff co-efficient
• Remotely sensed data, particularly Landsat, Thematic Mapper (TM), Système
Pour l'Observation de la Terre (SPOT), MLA data and Indian Remote Sensing
Satellite (IRS) data has been used for calculation of drainage basin area and
stream network density. Quantitative geomorphic information has been extracted
from analysis of Landsat imagery (Haralick et al., 1985).
• Panchromatic stereo imagery from IRS-1C and IRS-1D can be used to develop a
Digital Elevation Model (DEM)
• GIS techniques can be used to integrate spatial data forms like topography and
soil maps with hydrologic variables like rainfall distribution or soil moisture.
• Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC-1) model was used to demonstrate the
efficacy of using Remote Sensing for re-computation of hydrologic variables.
 RST for Flood Management
India is one of the most disaster prone
geographical zones in the world. It has been
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

estimated that a loss worth more than $300

million (about Rupees 1500 Crore) was incurred
annually as a result of damage caused by flood
and cyclone in India. In the list of worst flood
affected countries, India stands second after
Bangladesh (Agarwal and Narain, 1991) and
accounts for one fifth of global death count due to
floods. It has been estimated that about 40 million
hectare (Mha) or nearly one eighth of India’s
geographical area is flood prone
 • In every aspect of flood management like preparedness,
prevention and relief, space technology has made substantial
contribution.
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT

• Information acquired through Remote Sensing covers wide

area, periodicity and spectral characteristics and is especially
useful in comparing data before and after the flood.
• The utility of satellite Remote Sensing has been
demonstrated operationally for mapping flood inundated
areas.
• Major floods and cyclones that occurred in India were
mapped in near real time and information was provided to
concerned agencies.
• Partially cloud free data was acquired, analyzed and
interpreted in near real time by IRS series satellites. IRS-1C,
IRS-1D, IRS-P6, Cartosat-1, Cartosat-2, Radarsat and Earth
Resource Satellite (ERS) were used and are being used for
flood inundation mapping, estimation of flood damage and
infrastructure loss
 RST for Watershed Management
• Space borne multi spectral data has been used to generate
baseline information on various natural resources like soil,
forest cover, surface water, groundwater and land use/land
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cover.
• Subsequent integration of such information with slope and
socio-economic data in a GIS has resulted in generation of
location specific management plan for sustainable
development of land and water resources within a watershed.
• A national level project entitled Integrated Mission for
Sustainable Development (IMSD) was undertaken by the
Department of Space, Government of India, which has
covered an area of about 84 Mha spread over 175districts in
India.
• Implementation of rain water harvesting in selected
watersheds under the project has demonstrated the benefits
by way of increased recharge to groundwater and agricultural
development of once barren areas.
 RST for Drought Management
Drought Indian Scenario
• The socio-economic life of millions of people is
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being affected every year by drought, which is

one of the worst natural disasters. Due to the
highly non uniform distribution of monsoon
showers in both space and time, drought has
become a menace over many parts of India. It
has been estimated that out of the net sown area
of 140 Mha, 68% is vulnerable to drought
conditions and about 50% of the drought prone
area is classified as “Severe” where frequency
of drought is bi-annual or less (Rao, 1999).
 RST for Drought Management

• Remote Sensing data from geostationary and polar

orbiting weather satellites like Indian National Satellite
(INSAT), National Oceanic and Atmospheric
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Administration (NOAA) and other global data are used

as major inputs in rainfall predictions ranging from long-
term seasonal predictions through medium range
predictions to short-term predictions.
• Vegetation Index derived from satellite imageries are
now being used continuously to monitor drought
conditions on near real time basis.
• National Remote Sensing Centre, Department of Space
has introduced a National Agricultural Drought
Assessment and Monitoring System (NADAMS),
through which early warning is provided on expected
yield from major crops at district level by the end of
August.
 RST for Drought Management
• The NADAMS uses daily data from NOAA Advanced
Very High Resolution Radiometer having 1.1 km
horizontal resolution and IRS Wide Field Scanner
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having 188 m horizontal resolution.

• The high resolution data of bi-weekly or monthly
Vegetation Index is used by NADAMS, which provides
periodic bulletins and detailed reports to the user
agencies.
• Crop Acreage and Production Estimate (CAPE)
programmed is operational at district level for providing
production forecast before harvest from major crops in
winter season. IRS-1D data having high spatial
resolution and ground based meteorological data are
used for forecasting of winter crop production under the
CAPE programme.
 RST for Irrigation Command Area Management

Irrigation Indian Scenario

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A major factor in increasing agricultural production is

development of irrigation practices, which in turn is
essential for economic development of the country. In most
of the Irrigation Command Areas (ICA) in India, the
present scenario demands a more efficient water
management programme. The ICAs in India suffer from
problems of inadequate and unreliable water supply, wide
gap between created and utilized irrigation potential,
temporal imbalances of water demand and supply,
excessive seepage loss and rise of groundwater table
leading to water logging and salinity problems.
 • Remote Sensing methods have been successfully applied in
delineating saline and alkaline soils and detecting areas
having ineffective water management practices leading to
decrease in crop yield.
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• Remote Sensing techniques are now increasingly applied in

land use planning and in identifying areas suitable for
sustained irrigated cropping with the help of “irrigability
maps” prepared from satellite data.
• Vegetation Indices and demand-supply analysis is used in
many Irrigation Command Areas in India to evaluate
irrigation potential.
• IRS-1C Linear Imaging and Self Scanning-III (LISS-III) and
Wide Field Sensor (WiFS) data were used for calculation of
Adequacy Index, Equity Index and Water Use Efficiency
(WUE) for characterization of the Irrigation Command Area.
• The multi-temporal Remote Sensing data was finally used
for crop inventory, generation of vegetation spectral index
profiles and estimation of crop evapotranspiration.
 Groundwater Observations 1. Depth to
3. Groundwater 6. Recharge from 5. safe field water level
Recharge from rainfall structures
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Parimalarenganayaki et al 2013
 Geophysical Exploration
This investigation is carried out to understand
subsurface information like water table, quality of
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water to some extent (seawater intrusion), type of

geology

Surface Geophysical Techniques

• Electrical resistivity
• Seismic refraction
• Other survey methods like soil temperature,
magnetometer, gravity and remote sensing
techniques etc.
 Electrical resistivity
The electrical resistance of the subsurface (groundwater, soil or rock) is
determined by applying an electric current (I) to metal stakes (outer electrodes)
driven into the ground and measuring the apparent potential difference (V)
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(Difference: how much sent in to the ground from outer electrode and how
much is received from the ground by inner electrode) between two inner
electrodes buried or driven into the ground.
Changing the spacing between the electrodes, changes the depth of penetration
of the current (higher spacing higher depth information)
 Use of ER method
• Correlating lithology and drawing geophysical
section (saturated aquifer 5 to 10 ohm-m)
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• Bed rock profile (massive rock 400 o-m)

• Freshwater (100 ohm-m) salt water interface
(0.3 ohm-m)
• Contact of geological information (Granite 170
– 400, weathered less then 40)
• Water quality in shallow aquifer and GW
pollution as in oil field brine pollution,
pollution by irrigation, seawater (resistivity 0.3
ohm-metre)
S. PARIMALA RENGANAYAKI, SCE, VIT
Seismic Refraction method

• This method covers only a few hundreds meters below ground surface, hence
this is used in groundwater investigation
• The elastic waves caused by the detonation (blasting) of explosives near the
ground surface or a sledge hammer striking a metal plate on the ground,
travel downwards into various rock layers and are refracted back to the
surface from the junctions between the rocks layers. These waves are picked
up at various points on the ground surface by a geophone.
• This record shows when the energy commenced and when it was picked up
at the surface
• By knowing the arrival time of different waves at different distances from
the energy source, the velocity of propagation of waves through rock layer
can be calculated
• Travel time measured in milliseconds
 Application of Refraction Method
• Locating groundwater table
• Determining the depth to bedrock or
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impermeable layer
• Locating buried stream
• Locating faults
Dry top soil 120 m/sec
Granite 6000 m/sec
Wet sand 600 m/sec
Alluvium 500 to 1500 m/s
 Other subsurface Investigation Methods
Soil Temperature
Measurement of soil temperature are made at about 45cm
below the land surface using an electronic Thermometer- a
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thermistor at the end of a long probe.

Magnetometer
Measures the intensity and direction of magnetic forces. They
are useful in granite (impermeable rock) area and less useful in
basaltic (rock with pores) area.
Gravity
Gravity is directly related to the density and volume of
earth materials beneath the point measures. They have been
used in groundwater studies to map large, buried valleys,
locate sinks holes. Gravimeter measures the direct effects of
pull of gravity on a mass suspended by a delicate spring.
Changes in the length of the spring are related directly to the
vertical intensity of the gravity field. It is measured in gals ( 1
gals = 1 cm/sec2)
 TEST DRILLING
• Test drilling provides information regarding
subsurface formations in a vertical line from
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the ground surface

• Test drilling (also referred to as trial bores)
consists of drilling small diameter bores for the
purpose of obtaining geological and other
information relating to the aquifer.
• Information about each stratum and its depth as
well as water levels and water samples for
water quality analysis are obtained. The test
bores can also be used as observation wells for
measuring water levels or for conducting
pumping tests to determine aquifer properties.
 Drilling methods
• Jetting
• Hand-auger.
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• Percussion.
• Rotary drilling.
• Hand-auger drilling.