Land Use Planning and Groundwater Resource Management: Using DRASTIC Model for Surat, India

Abstract

Water is known to be a precondition for human, animal and plant life. Being one of the comparatively reliable and safe sources for drinking purpose, it also provides various ecological services and is the backbone for life supporting system on the earth. Groundwater is one of the major sources of replenishable water on the earth and constitutes approximately 30.1% of liquid fresh water whereas nearly 70% is locked within ice-caps and glaciers [1]. However, increase in population and anthropogenic activities such as agriculture, industrial, domestic waste, etc. have further led to land use and land cover transformation has led to its deterioration and has been over exploited and stressed due to ever increasing water demand and less availability of surface water. The present study aims to identify the most vulnerable groundwater zones in the district of Surat, Gujarat, which are susceptible to overall contamination due to their geological setting using the DRASTIC methodology proposed by Linda Aller published in USEPA and to guide the overall decision making in the land-use zoning and sustainable use of aquifer. The DRASTIC vulnerability index map is an overlay index method, prepared by computing various hydro-geological data of the study area in GIS. In the later section of the research paper, an analysis has been drawn between existing industrial location in the district and the most vulnerable zones for groundwater pollution where legitimate intervention needs to be provided through various adaptation and mitigation strategies.