Assessment of effect of recharge from a check dam as a method of Managed Aquifer Recharge by hydrogeological investigations

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ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Assessment of effect of recharge from a check dam as a methodof Managed Aquifer Recharge by hydrogeological investigations

S. Parimalarenganayaki • L. Elango

Received: 18 November 2013 / Accepted: 9 October 2014

� Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014

Abstract Check dams are often used as a method of

Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) and are generally

preferred in non-perennial rivers for intentional storage of

the water. The objective of this study is to evaluate the

efficacy of a check dam constructed as a MAR initiative

across Arani River, North of Chennai, India by long-term

hydrogeological investigations. Electrical resistivity survey

and drilling of borehole helped to understand the subsur-

face geology. Water level and water quality measurements

were carried out periodically from July 2010 to May 2012.

Groundwater occurs in unconfined condition in the alluvial

formations extending up to a depth of about 50 m below

the ground surface. Water table is at a depth ranging from 3

to 12 m below the ground level. The electrical conductivity

and concentration of major ion were less in water stored in

the dam and hence the recharge of this water has led to

improvement in groundwater quality. Rainfall recharge of

this study area was estimated to be about 17 % of annual

rainfall. About 63 % of water stored in the check dam

resulted in groundwater recharge. This has led to an

increase in groundwater level from 1 to 3.5 m until a dis-

tance of about 2 km. The cost of 1 m3 of water stored by

the check dam will be Rs. 1.20/-. The comparison of

groundwater level, water level in the check dam and water

quality assisted in demarcating the areas benefited by the

storage of water in the check dam. Thus, the electrical

conductivity and major ion concentration of water, which

are inexpensive, rapid and easy to measure, were used as a

tool for understanding the area that is benefited by the

water stored in the check dam. The study brought out the

efficiency of check dam as a method of MAR in improving

the groundwater recharge and groundwater quality.

Keywords Chennai �MAR � Recharge estimation �Water

level � Electrical conductivity � Major ions

Introduction

Demand for groundwater is ever increasing due to the

limited availability of surface water resources in several

parts of the world. This has led to depletion of groundwater

resources and there are several reports on decline in

groundwater head over the last two decades (Shankar et al.

2011; Gun 2012). Excessive extraction of groundwater for

irrigation where it is slowly renewed is the main cause of

the depletion and climate change has the potential to

exacerbate the problem in some regions (Vaux 2011;

Hertig and Gleeson 2012). Qin et al. (2011), Rahman et al.

(2013) and Bocanegra et al. (2013) emphasise the impor-

tance of assessing natural recharge on the renewability of

the groundwater resources for sustainable development.

Adaption of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) will be

helpful to overcome the continuous depletion of ground-

water resources. Gale et al. (2006) describe MAR as

intentional storage and treatment of water in aquifers.

MAR methods include aquifer storage and recovery;

aquifer storage, transfer and recovery; infiltration ponds;

infiltration galleries; soil aquifer treatment; percolation

tanks and check dams (Dillon et al. 2009). Amongst these

check dams are generally considered as a viable method of

MAR to conserve excess runoff during monsoons. This

method is especially beneficial in the non-perennial rivers

in which runoff is much higher than the natural recharge.

S. Parimalarenganayaki � L. Elango (&)

Department of Geology, Anna University,

Chennai 600 025, Tamil Nadu, India

e-mail: [email protected]

URL: http://www.elango.5u.com

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Environ Earth Sci

DOI 10.1007/s12665-014-3790-8

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Increase in contact time between the water impounded and

the riverbed will facilitate the infiltration of water in the

groundwater zone, which otherwise would have been lost

as runoff. This will replenish the groundwater abstracted

before the onset of monsoon rains. Further, the replenish-

ment may result in the availability of sufficient ground-

water during the subsequent non-monsoon periods. Review

on impact of check dams as a method of MAR in

improving the groundwater quantity, quality and livelihood

was carried out by Parimalarenganayaki and Elango

(2013a). The effect of MAR by check dam on improving

the groundwater potential can be assessed by several

methods. Isotopes and temperature of water were used as a

tracer to estimate groundwater recharge by Anderson

(2005), Michalski (2007) and Sprenger et al. (2014). Birk

et al. (2004) made use of the variation in electrical con-

ductivity (EC) of water to quantify groundwater recharge.

Sophocleous (1991), Healy and Cook (2002) and Bocane-

gra et al. (2013) used groundwater level fluctuation method

to quantify the recharge by rainfall and surface water. Raju

et al. (2006), Muralidharan et al. (2007) and Abdalla and

Al-Rawahi (2013) assessed the efficiency of a recharge

structure by groundwater table response. Many researchers

(Meigs and Bahr 1993; Woessner 2000) used tracer tests to

understand the interaction between the groundwater and

surface water. Based on the microbiological load the effect

of riverbank filtration on groundwater quality was studied

by Dash et al. (2008), Singh et al. (2010) and Sandhu et al.

(2010). Even though researchers have used temperature

measurements and tracer test to study the efficacy of

storage water in the check dams, these methods have some

limitations. Temperature measurements require sophisti-

cated tools to be installed in the field and it is difficult to

maintain them. Tracer tests are expensive and may be time

consuming which also has environmental and legal issues,

whereas, on the other hand, measurement of water level,

electrical conductivity and concentration of major ions will

be less expensive, easy to measure and can also be used to

study the efficacy of check dams. To mitigate the problem

of groundwater depletion due to over exploitation a number

of check dams are constructed across the rivers flowing

north of Chennai city, India (Fig. 1). About 80 % of water

requirement in India is met by pumping groundwater,

which is the case in and around Chennai, especially to meet

irrigation requirement. Previous studies in this region

include assessment of groundwater quality (Elango and

Manickam 1986), hydrogeochemistry (Elango 1986),

hydrogeological and artificial recharge studies (UNDP

1987), aquifer restoration from seawater intrusion (Rao

et al. 2004), groundwater augmentation by flood mitigation

(Anuthaman 2009) and augmentation of groundwater by

MAR (Parimalarenganayaki and Elango 2013b). However,

no studies have been carried out on hydrogeological

investigation based on long-term frequent interval to assess

the region benefitted by the storage of water in check dam.

Long-term studies have been carried out only on induced

infiltration rate and sampling issues by Gollnitz (1999) and

a few others (Kuhn 1999; Ray 1999) only with the inten-

tion of quality control for public drinking water supply

from riverbank filtration project. It is essential to carry out

a detailed study based on field measurements of water level

and water quality parameters to understand the effect of

impoundment of water in the dams. Hence, the present

study was carried out with the objective of evaluating the

effect of check dam on groundwater potential using the

water level fluctuation, EC, and concentration of major

ions around a check dam across a river north of Chennai,

India.

Description of the study area

Chennai, the fourth largest city in India, receives an aver-

age rainfall of around 1,200 mm/year, 35 % of which

falling in the southwest monsoon (June–September) and

60 % during the northeast monsoon (October–December)

based on the rainfall data collected from Tamil Nadu

Public Works Department. Rainfall is the major source of

groundwater recharge in this area. Atmospheric tempera-

ture of this area varies from 38 to 42 �C during May–June

and from 18 to 36 �C during December–January. The

monthly average potential evaporation ranges from 2.2 to

7.7 mm (Meteorological department, Chennai). Chennai

city’s water requirement is met mostly from the surface

reservoirs and extracting groundwater from the well fields

located (Fig. 1) in alluvial aquifers north of Chennai con-

tribute about 5–10 % of the water supply. Even though

contribution of groundwater to meet the city’s water supply

is comparatively less, this gains great importance when the

reservoir storage dwindles after summer period of April

and May. Over pumping of groundwater from the alluvial

aquifer north of Chennai to meet city’s water supply and

local irrigational use has lead to lowering of groundwater

table. Hence, to augment the groundwater resources a

series of check dams are being constructed across the Arani

and Koratallai rivers flowing north of the city. These rivers

will flow only for a few days during October–December

after severe monsoonal rains and are generally influent.

The check dams will reduce the river discharge and thus

contain flooding on the downstream side. These check

dams are expected to increase the groundwater recharge by

storing the river runoff during monsoonal rains. One such

check dam across the Arani River was chosen to take up

the present study (Fig. 1). Construction of this check dam

was completed in August 2010. This is a masonry structure

of 260 m length and a height of 3.5 m from the riverbed.

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Width on the top was 1 m and upstream face vertical with

rear slope of 0.85:1. The storage capacity of this check dam

is 0.8 Mm3 with its full capacity and the water spread will

extend up to 2 km on the upstream side. This check dam

generally begins to fill up from the month of October and

depends on rainfall in the catchment and release of water

from Pichature reservoir located at a distance of about

40 km on the upstream side of this check dam. Agriculture

is practised over most part of this area and the major crops

include rice, sugarcane, jasmine, rose, watermelon, spin-

ach, cucumber, radish, etc. Rice is cultivated twice a year.

Sugarcane and flowers are grown throughout the year.

Seasonal crops such as watermelon, spinach, cucumber and

radish are cultivated once in a year.

Materials and methods

Geological investigation techniques

Subsurface geological characterisation was made by ver-

tical electrical resistivity soundings, drilling of three bore

holes and study of borehole logs. One-dimensional (1D)

and two-dimensional (2D) vertical sounding with Sch-

lumberger configuration was performed at three locations

using ABEM Terrameter (SAS 1000) and Imaging system

(ES 10-64C). Locations of 1D, 2D and borehole logs are

shown in Fig. 2. This survey was done to measure the

variation in the electrical resistivity of the ground, by

applying electrical current across arrays of electrodes. In

Fig. 1 Study area with location

of check dam and monitoring

wells

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1D resistivity survey, the changes in the apparent resistivity

with depth below the centre point of the electrode spread

were obtained by progressively increasing the distance

between the outer electrodes in Schlumberger method. In

2D survey, the variation in resistivity of the subsurface was

obtained along a profile by automatically switching the

connections over an array of 75 electrodes. The subsurface

image was obtained by inversion modelling (Adegbola

et al. 2010). As part of this study three boreholes were also

drilled. The resistivity soundings were carried out at

locations where the borehole logs were not available.

The interpreted subsurface geology from the electrical

resistivity survey was also validated by comparing it with a

nearby three boreholes. Further, four borehole logs (BH1,

BH2, BH3 and BH7) of the study site were obtained from

the private drilling companies.

Water level, electrical conductivity and geochemical

measurements

Initially an intensive field survey was carried out during

July 2010, to study the nature of well, type of cropping

pattern and usage of water for various purposes in this area.

Based on this survey, 19 wells located in regions with

similar land use were chosen for periodical monitoring.

Groundwater level in the wells was measured once in

3 months from July 2010 (before the construction of check

dam) to December 2010 and once in a month from January

2011 to May 2012 using the water level meter (Solinist

101). Groundwater and water from the check dam were

also collected during the field visits. EC of the water

samples was measured in the field using multi-parameter

probe (YSI 556). Alkalinity was measured in the field using

MERCK alkalinity kit (111109). Collected water samples

were analysed in the laboratory for sodium, potassium,

calcium, magnesium, chloride and sulphate using a Metr-

ohm 861 advanced compact ion chromatograph. Daily

water level in the check dam was measured from October

2010 to May 2011 (first filling up time to until water in the

check dam is empty for one season) using staff gauge

installed in the check dam. River bed elevation was mea-

sured using the differential global positioning system

(DGPS) (Leica GS09 GNSS). Length of the impounded

water extents up to 2 km when the check dam reaches its

maximum capacity. Measurement on width of riverbed and

DGPS survey was carried out until this distance. The data

measured through DGPS were imported and processed

using LEICA Geo Office 8.2 to obtain co-ordinates and

elevation. Triangular Irregular Network (TIN) model was

created using ArcGIS 9.2 software based on the elevation

data obtained through DGPS survey. Three-dimensional

analytical capability of ArcGIS 9.2 was used to calculate

the surface area and volume corresponding to different

stages of water in the check dam using this TIN model.

Estimation of natural groundwater recharge

and recharge from check dam

Natural groundwater recharge in the study area was esti-

mated using the various empirical formulae [Chaturvedi,

UP Irrigation Research Institute, Roorkee (UPRI), Bhatta-

charjee, Krishna Roa, Kumar and Seethapathi] as referred

by Gontia and Patil (2012). These empirical formulas are

derived for the areas with semiarid, alluvium and annual

rainfall similar to the present study site.

Quantum of recharge from the check dam was calcu-

lated using water balance method as given in Eq. (1). In

this study site, water stored in the check dam is not pumped

for irrigation or any other purpose and hence the change in

volume was considered due to infiltration and evaporation.

Recharge (m3Þ ¼ change in storage (m3Þ� potential evaporation (m3Þ ð1Þ

Results and discussion

Borehole logs and electrical resistivity survey helped to

bring out the subsurface geology of the study area. The

water level, EC and concentration of major ions of the

surface water stored in the check dam and groundwater in

the monitoring wells are the major data inputs for this

study.

Geology and hydrogeology

Topographically this region gently slopes towards the east

(Fig. 3). Geologically, this region comprises less perme-

able Gondwana clay of Jurassic–Cretaceous period (UNDP

1987) at the bottom. This is overlain by sandy silt

belonging to tertiary. This tertiary deposit is overlain by

alluvial deposit comprising sand, conglomerates and clayey

Fig. 2 Map showing the locations of 1D, 2D and borehole logs

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sand of quaternary period. These quaternary deposits are

formed by the alluvial action for a thickness of about 50 m.

The actual subsurface geology of the study site was

understood from the borehole logs and resistivity survey.

1D and 2D resistivity sounding was carried out at locations

where there were no borehole logs. The resistivity data

obtained were processed using 1XID software and the

lithological variation was brought out by inverse model-

ling. Lithological information obtained from the resistivity

data modelling compares well with the nearby borehole

logs. As an example, resistivity curve of location 1D3

along with a nearby borehole log is shown in Fig. 4. The

resistivity image obtained by inverse modelling at location

2D1 along a north–south profile and borehole log of BH6 is

shown in Fig. 5. Figures 4 and 5 indicate that the inter-

preted lithological information from the resistivity data

compares well with the borehole logs. The resistivity sur-

vey indicates the presence of three different layers until the

depth of penetration. The top most layer comprises sand

with resistivity ranging from 20 to 145 Xm extending up to

a depth of about 6.5 m. The second layer is clayey sand

with resistivity ranging from 5 to 20.6 Xm and it extends

from 6.5 to 16.5 m below ground level. The third layer

consists of sand from a depth of 16.5–20 m. A geological

cross-section along X–X0 (Fig. 2) from west to east across

the river derived from the borehole logs and resistivity

survey is shown in Fig. 6.

These three layers of alluvial deposit overlying the

Gondwana clay function as an unconfined aquifer. As the

clay lenses present in the alluvial formation of this area are

only localised and do not extent to a large region, the

groundwater occurs under unconfined condition. Intensive

agriculture practised throughout this area depends mostly

on the use of groundwater. Groundwater level measure-

ments made during the study indicate that the water table

occurs generally at a depth from 3 to 12 m below the

ground surface. The groundwater in general flows towards

eastern direction (Fig. 8).

Groundwater and surface water level variation

To understand the efficacy of the check dam on improving

the groundwater level of this area, the temporal variation in

groundwater level in the wells and the surface water level

in the check dam was compared. Based on this comparison,

the monitoring wells were divided into two groups. In the

first group of wells, the temporal groundwater level fluc-

tuation responds to the variation in rainfall (Fig. 7a). These

wells are located away from the check dam. For example,

the trend of groundwater level similar to that of rainfall of

two wells (well Nos. 25 and 29) is shown in Fig. 7b. This

similarity indicates that the rainfall is the primary source of

groundwater recharge at these locations. In these wells, the

groundwater level raises twice in a year coinciding with the

southwest and northeast monsoon periods. The water table

rose to 1.12 and 2.69 m during southwest monsoon and

northeast monsoon periods respectively in well No. 25. The

raise in water table was 1.5 and 2.07 m during southwest

monsoon and northeast monsoon periods respectively in

well No. 29.

In the second group of wells (example well Nos. 2

and 27) located closer to the check dam, the recharge

begins during the first monsoon of the year (southwest

monsoon, July–September) and this can be seen from the

rise in groundwater level or decrease in the declination

rate in the groundwater level after rain. The recharge

continues in these wells as the rains during this monsoon

result in collection of water in the depression of the river

bed in the upstream of the check dam. As the rain

continues during the northeast monsoon (October–

December) storage in the structure begins to increase and

hence the recharge process continues resulting in steady

rise of groundwater level in the wells located closer to it.

In these wells, the trend of temporal groundwater level is

similar to that of the water level fluctuation in the check

dam rather than the rainfall variation (Fig. 7c). This

similarity indicates that the surface water stored in the

check dam serves as the primary source of recharge. The

water level in these wells rises only once during a year

than the previous group of wells. The groundwater table

rose about 8 m in well No. 2 and was about 6.5 m in

well No. 27. Thus, the comparison of groundwater level,

water level in the check dam and rainfall aided to

Fig. 3 Topographic contour (m msl) of the region

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delineate the regions benefited due to the storage of

water in the check dam. The groundwater table map of

the region before the construction of the check dam and

after its construction with its full storage is shown in

Fig. 8. This figure indicates the background of natural

groundwater flow and the influence of the check dam.

The groundwater levels are more or less symmetrical

during the month of July 2010 before the construction of

the dam. There is no rainfall recharge and no flow in the

river during this month, and hence in general the

groundwater flow follows the topography. The ground-

water level in the month of December 2011 clearly

indicates the influence of recharge of water stored in the

check dam. That is the groundwater level very close to

the bund of the rivers is same as that of the surface

water level. During this month the groundwater water

flows away in all directions, as the water level in the

dam is about 24 m msl and the groundwater level at a

distance of 1 km is about 19 m.

Electrical conductivity measurements

Electrical conductivity measurements of groundwater in

the wells and the water in the check dam have been used to

identify the surface water and groundwater interaction.

Fresh surface water and mineralised local groundwater

commonly differ with respect to their EC values (Stiefel

et al. 2009; Rautio and Niemi 2011). As discussed earlier,

the two groups of wells are considered for the study of

variation in EC. Figure 9a shows the temporal variation in

EC of water stored in the check dam and groundwater of

the wells that are primarily recharged by rainfall. This

figure indicates that the EC of groundwater of these wells is

much higher than that of the EC of water in the check dam.

EC of groundwater of these wells varied between 904 and

3,269 lS/cm. The EC of water in the check dam varied

from 397 to 1,197 lS/cm. Figure 9b shows the temporal

variation in the EC of the groundwater of the wells that are

primarily recharged by the water stored in the check dam

Fig. 4 One-dimensional

resistivity curve of location 1D3

Fig. 5 Two-dimensional resistivity image by inverse modelling at location 2D1 along with a nearby the borehole (BH6)

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along with the EC of water in the check dam. The EC of

groundwater of these wells varied between 514 and

1,568 lS/cm, which is very similar to the EC of the water

in the check dam. The similarity in the EC of water in the

check dam and groundwater confirms the recharge from

this structure. This also supports the inference made from

the comparison of temporal variation in the water levels

(Fig. 7b, c).

The variation in EC of the groundwater with respect to

distance from the dam is also helping to demarcate the

region as three zones. This was done by plotting the

minimum, maximum and median values of EC measured

in groundwater of wells located at different distances in

the form of a box and whisker plot (Fig. 10a). The

maximum measured EC of water in the dam was

1,197 lS/cm. Hence, a horizontal line was drawn as a

reference line at 1,200 lS/cm in Fig. 10a. The median

values of EC of well Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 27 are below this

reference line, indicating that these groups of wells are

highly benefitted by the recharge from check dam and

EC of these wells varied between 397 and 1,567 lS/cm.

The median values of EC of well Nos. 7, 13, 14, 17, 20,

21, 25, 29, 30, 31, 33 and 36 are above this reference

line, indicating that these wells are not significantly

influenced by the recharge of water from the check dam.

EC of these wells varied between 904 and 3,269 lS/cm.

The wells (well Nos. 5, 15, 16 and 18) in which the

median values are very close to the horizontal reference

line indicating that these wells are partially benefitted by

the recharge of water from the check dam. These wells

are located either on the western side or in the directions

away from the general groundwater flow path from west

to east. Thus, these wells are partially benefited, when

water in the check dam is at the maximum level. The

Fig. 6 Geological cross-section

from west to east across the

river derived from the borehole

logs and resistivity survey

Fig. 7 a Temporal variation in rainfall, b temporal variation in

groundwater level in wells similar to the rainfall and c temporal

variation in groundwater level in wells similar to the water level in the

check dam

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inferences made from the EC measurements compare

well with the inferences made from the water level

observations as seen in Fig. 10b.

Major ion concentration

Schoeller plot was used to compare the water stored in the

check dam, groundwater from the wells located closer

(well Nos. 1, 2 and 27) and away (well Nos. 7, 14, 25 and

29) from the check dam for the month of October 2010

and January 2011 (Fig. 11). The water from the check

dam is exhibiting very low ionic concentrations, whilst

the wells away from check dam show significantly higher

concentration of ions. The major ion concentration of the

wells located closer to the structure is more or less similar

pattern as that of water in the check dam, which indicates

that groundwater is primarily derived from the dam.

Further, effect of recharge on the drinking water and

irrigation water quality of this site was already reported

by Parimalarenganayaki and Elango (2014) which is also

in accordance with these observations. Thus, the EC and

major ion concentration of water, which are inexpensive,

rapid and easy to measure, were used as a tool for the

understanding the area that are benefited by the water

stored in the check dam. The results based on EC were

also comparable with the results of major ion concentra-

tion of water.

Fig. 8 Groundwater table map

of the region before and after

construction of the check dam

Fig. 9 Temporal variation of electrical conductivity of water in

check dam, a groundwater of the wells primarily recharged by rainfall

and b groundwater of the wells primarily recharged by surface water

in the check dam

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Estimation of natural groundwater recharge and recharge

from check dam

The estimated percentage groundwater recharge by

empirical formula for the years 2005–2012 is given in

Table 1. These empirical formulas had been used to

estimate groundwater recharge in different parts of India.

In the absence of any formula for the present study area

the already published empirical formula was used. The

variation in the estimated groundwater recharge using

different empirical formula was generally around 2 %.

However, for the year 2012 the empirical formula sug-

gested by Krishna Rao underestimates the groundwater

recharge, as this formula is applicable for annual rainfall

of 600–1,000 ml. These analyses indicate that the UPRI,

Bhattacharjee and Chaturvedi formula estimates the

groundwater recharge as expected for this region. Per-

centage of rainfall contributed to groundwater recharge of

this area varied from 14.8 to 17.3 % with an average

value of 16.77 %.

Recharge from check dam was calculated for the period

between 2010 and 2011. The water levels in the check dam

vary from 20.3 to 23.8 m (Fig. 12). Area of water spread

and volume of water stored in the check dam were esti-

mated on daily basis using TIN model (Fig. 13). Maximum

storage capacity corresponding to maximum water level in

the check dam was estimated to be 0.8 Mm3. Change in

volume (DV) of water stored in the check dam is given by

DV = Vt – Vt-1, where Vt is volume of water stored at time

t, Vt-1 is volume of water stored at time t - 1 and t is day.

The monthly average potential evaporation data of this site

were used to calculate the daily evaporation. Daily volume

of water evaporated during the period of storage is a

product of daily evaporation and water surface area. Vol-

ume of water infiltrated into the ground was calculated by

subtracting the daily volume of water evaporated from the

check dam with the daily change in volume of water stored

in the check dam. As there was no other loss from the

check dam, it was considered that the water is lost only

from infiltration and evaporation. Daily cumulative

Well number

Ele

ctri

cal c

ondu

ctiv

ity (µ

S/cm

)

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

CD 1 2 3 4 27 5 15 16 18 7 13 14 17 20 21 25 29 30 31 33 36

Zone ILow EC

Zone IIModerate EC

Zone IIIHigh EC

MaxMin75th %25th %

Median

Che

ck d

am

a

Well number

Wat

er le

vel (

msl

)

12

14

16

18

20

22

24

26

28

CD 1 2 3 4 27 5 15 16 18 7 13 14 17 20 21 25 29 30 31 33 36

Zone IIModerate GWL fluctuation

MaxMin75th %25th %Median

Zone III Low GWL fluctuation

Zone IHigh GWL fluctuation

Che

ck d

am

b

Fig. 10 Box and whisker diagram of a electrical conductivity of water in the check dam and groundwater in different wells, b water level

fluctuation of surface and groundwater in different wells

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storage, volume of water evaporated and volume of water

infiltrated as groundwater recharge with respect to time are

shown in Fig. 14. A quantum of 2 Mm3 of water was

harvested due this dam during the period from October

2010 to May 2011. At the end of May 2011 the dam was

empty. It was estimated that about 1.3 Mm3 of water stored

(63 % of cumulative storage) was infiltrated as a ground-

water recharge. As the storage capacity of this dam is

0.8 Mm3, it is clear that about two times of this volume

was harvested during this year. Hence, it is reasonable to

assume that all the check dams in this region would have

harvested two times of its storage capacity in years with

about 1,200 mm of rainfall.

Delineation of region benefitted

Water level fluctuation, EC and concentration of major

ions were used to classify the region based on the benefit

that it has acquired due to storage of water in the check

dam. The region was classified into three zones as high,

moderate and minimal benefit due to the storage of water in

the dam, which is shown in Fig. 15. After the construction

of check dam the wells within a distance of about 1.25 km

in zone I are highly benefited by the recharge from the

dam. The groundwater level in this zone has increased by

3.5 m and the EC was ranging from 514 to 1,568 lS/cm.

The zone II extending from 1.25 to 1.75 km is moderately

benefited by the check dam. The groundwater level in this

zone has increased by about 1 m and the EC ranging from

800 to 1,700 lS/cm. The groundwater of the zone III which

is not directly benefited by the check dam has the ambient

EC ranging from 904 to 3,269 lS/cm. Thus, the effect of

recharge on improvement in groundwater quality with

respect to ionic concentration is evident. Further, the

quantum of recharge from the dam was estimated by the

daily water level measurements using water balance

method. About 1.3 Mm3 of water has recharged during the

period from October 2010 to May 2011. The construction

of check dam will result in reduction in volume of water

discharged to the sea by 2 Mm3 per annum. However, this

is only a very small fraction of the present discharge from

this river into the sea, which is 94.4 Mm3 per annum as

estimated by UNDP (1987). As only a very small fraction

of runoff is harvested due to this structure there will not be

any major changes in the hydrological balance. Further, the

check dam is designed with the sluice gates at either end,

opening of these gates for a brief period of time results in

prevention of siltation.

Estimation of cost of recharged water

Cost of recharged water was estimated approximately by

considering the costs of construction of the dam, annual

operation and maintenance. As per the Public Works

Department, Government of Tamil Nadu the cost of con-

struction of this dam was Rs. 70.00 million (1 US $ = Rs.

60.26 as on September 2014 as per Reserve Bank of India).

It is assumed that the life of this check dam is about

75 years. The annual cost for maintenance and operation of

this check dam was considered as Rs. 0.5 million. The

annual average rate of inflation is about 10 % based on the

inflation rate between the years 2001 and 2010 (Nadhanael

and Pattanaik 2010). Benefit from structure was estimated

in terms of the volume of water recharged per year. Based

on the present study, it was estimated that 1.3 Mm3 of

water is recharged from check dam when the annual

average rainfall is about 1,200 mm. Assuming that this will

be the quantum of recharge every year, a quantity of

97.5 Mm3 of water would have recharged during 75 years.

Based on these, the cost of 1 m3 of water recharged will be

about Rs. 1.20 (Table 2).

Conclusion

The efficiency of a check dam constructed as a method of

MAR was assessed by water level, EC, major ion con-

centration and recharge estimation. The electrical resistiv-

ity methods were used to understand the subsurface

Fig. 11 Schoeller diagram of water stored in the check dam and

groundwater from the wells located closer to the check dam, away

from check dam: a October 2010 b January 2011

Environ Earth Sci

123

Page 11

lithology in this region. The lithological interpretation

arrived based on electrical resistivity investigations com-

pared well with the borehole logs. The comparison of

groundwater levels, water level in the check dam and

rainfall assisted in demarcating the area that is highly

benefited by the storage of water in the check dam. The

inferences made from EC measurements, major ion con-

centration also indicate that the water in the dam and the

aquifer is similar. These inferences are also accordance

with the interpretation arrived from the comparison of

groundwater and surface water level variations. Rainfall

recharge of this study area is about 17 % of annual rainfall.

All the empirical formulas used to estimate rainfall

recharge gave more or less similar results with a variationTa

ble

1A

nn

ual

gro

un

dw

ater

rech

arg

eas

per

cen

tag

eo

fra

infa

llu

sin

gem

pir

ical

form

ula

Yea

rR

ain

fall

(Rf)

mm

Ch

atu

rved

i%

GW

R=

[2(R

f-

15

)0.4

/

Rf]

91

00

(Rf

inin

ch)

UP

RI

%

GW

R=

[1.3

5(R

f-

14

)0.5

/Rf]

91

00

(Rf

in

inch

)

Bh

atta

char

je%

GW

R=

[3.4

7(R

f-

38

)0.4

/Rf]

91

00

(Rf

incm

)

Kri

shn

aR

ao%

GW

R=

[0.2

5(R

f-

40

0)/

Rf]

91

00

(Rf

inm

m)

Ku

mar

and

See

thap

ath

i%

GW

R=

[0.6

3(R

f-

15

.28

)0.7

6/

Rf]

91

00

(Rf

inin

ch)

Av

erag

e

%G

WR

20

05

11

95

17

.01

16

.50

16

.88

16

.63

18

.55

17

.11

20

06

14

19

15

.79

15

.64

15

.67

17

.95

18

.82

16

.77

20

07

13

56

16

.12

15

.87

15

.99

17

.63

18

.77

16

.87

20

08

1,1

95

17

.01

16

.50

16

.88

16

.63

18

.55

17

.11

20

09

90

71

8.8

21

7.6

11

8.6

81

3.9

71

7.4

71

7.3

1

20

10

1,3

87

15

.95

15

.75

15

.83

17

.79

18

.80

16

.82

20

11

1,0

35

18

.00

17

.13

17

.86

15

.34

18

.10

17

.29

20

12

54

11

9.6

11

7.1

21

9.4

96

.52

11

.57

14

.86

To

tal

aver

age

rech

arg

e1

6.7

7

Fig. 12 Water level fluctuation in check dam

Fig. 13 Daily volume of water and corresponding water surface area

in the check dam

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May

stor

age

(Mm

3 )

Time

Storage Recharge Evaporation

20112010

Cum

ulat

ive

Fig. 14 Cumulative volume of water stored, evaporated and infil-

trated from the check dam

Environ Earth Sci

123

Page 12

of about ±2 %. During this study period, it was estimated

that about 1.3 Mm3 of water was recharged out of the

2 Mm3 of water harvested by the dam. The storage of water

resulted in increase in groundwater level from 1 to 3.5 m

until 2 km. The recharge from the dam led to improvement

in groundwater quality, which is evident from the relatively

lower concentration of major ions in groundwater in the

vicinity of the dam. The cost of 1 m3 of water recharged

will be about Rs. 1.20. Hence, this study was useful in

estimating the efficiency of check dam as a method of

MAR structure to improve the groundwater quality and

groundwater recharge. Such a study will also help to assess

approximately the optimum distances between successive

MAR structures in a river basin to get maximum benefit at

minimum cost.

Acknowledgments We wish to thank Department of Science and

Technology, New Delhi for funding this research under Women

Scientist Scheme (Grant Number SR/WOS-A/ET-49/2010(G)). The

authors also thank co-funding for the collaborative project

‘Enhancement of natural water systems and treatment methods for

safe and sustainable water supply in India – Saph Pani’ (www.saph

pani.eu) from the European Commission within the Seventh Frame-

work Programme (Grant Agreement Number 282911).

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Table 2 Estimation of

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Construction

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Total expenditure

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Cost of 1 m3

of water

recharged

(Rs)

70 41.5 111.5 97.5 1.20

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