Gis-based investigations on ground water behavior in Indian Punjab

The state of Punjab is facing problem of water table decline in most of the parts. Out of total cultivated area of Punjab, more than 97% area is irrigated. Groundwater covers 70–75% of irrigated area and remaining is by with canal water. The increased demand coupled with more dependency on groundwater has caused problem of water table decline in most part of state. Groundwater level change maps can be useful for determining areas of greatest change in storage in the regional systems using Geographical Information System (GIS). Therefore, an attempt has been made to assess the spatial and long term groundwater level behavior of the state using GIS. The map was classified for 0 -3 m, 3 - 10 m, 10 - 20 m, 20 - 30 m and beyond 30 m and it was found that percent area with water table depth > 10 m has increased to 71.4% in the year 2013 as compared to 24.7 percent in 1998.