Assessment of recharge to groundwater due to rain using Tritium tagging technique

Abstract

Estimation of recharge to groundwater is crucial to better water resource management, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. In general, it is difficult to estimate recharge to groundwater due to rainfall or irrigation using conventional methods due to nonavailability of adequate data. Nuclear methods, specially tritium tagging technique has been used successfully in different countries including many parts in India. In the

present paper, the assessment of recharge to groundwater due to rains has been made using Tritium tagging technique in parts of Narsinghpur district (M.P.) lying in the Narmada basin. In the study area, experiments have been carried out in cultivated as well as in uncultivated fields. In the study area, mainly four types of soils were found, namely clay, clay loam, loam and sandy clay in which clay is predominant. The average annual rainfall of the area is 1246 mm. The percentage of recharge to groundwater varies from 7.67% to 22.44% in the study area with respect to the type of soil and other geo-hydrological conditions. In the present paper the details of the methodology followed and details about the area including the results obtained with regard to the values of recharge to groundwater obtained have been described. The assessment of recharge to groundwater has been made mainly due to the monsoon rains of the year 1995.