Development of web enabled water resource information system using open source software for Patiala and SAS Nagar districts of Punjab, India

Abstract

Abstract Over the globe, efforts are being made to collect data and develop an adequate water resource information system for optimising its use. India is the largest consumer of water, with an estimated usage of around 300 cubic kilometers per year. Punjab, a north-western state of India, is an example of severe crises aquifer depletion due to unconstrained consumption of groundwater, leading to degradation of its quantity as well as quality. Thus it is of great importance to compile up-to-date information about the water requirement for its appropriate and sustainable use. Remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) are the technologies that can provide efficient and effective information system to tackle the water quality & water supply planning parameters. Thus, under the present study, a web-enabled water resource information system has been developed in the GIS environment for the SAS (Sahibzada Ajit Singh) Nagar and Patiala districts of Punjab by using the open source software MS4W and pmapper. This system provides digital information of natural, such as drainage, and man-made features like roads, canals, and tube wells with their location and so on, and also provide information related to water level, water quality of wells, and well depth for the study area. Such an information system can be very helpful for the administrators and can serve as a decision support system for planners and policy makers so that the areas where problems related to water quality can be identified and focused upon. The system can provide an effective and meaningful direction for the planning and development of both districts.