Applicability of remote sensing in rainfall-runoff water harvesting in arid to semi-arid regions of Western India

The arid to semi-arid regions all over the globe are experiencing or likely to experience increasing water scarcity. Pursuant to growing environmental awareness and concern for depleting water resources the need and demand for improved environmental technologies like rainwater/rainfall-runoff water harvesting is reemerging all over the globe. The Applicability and availability of remote Sensing tool has facilitated the delineation of Rainwater Harvesting Structures and Sites. The present work has been carried out in Jaipur region of western India with the help of remote sensing data product. The SPOT and IRS-IA, LISS-II FCC of Band 2, 3, 4; the paper print P/R 28/51 and ancillary data such as Survey of India Toposheets; Rainfall and meteorological data of the study area along with the Ground Truth information collected during the field visit were used. To identify sites for subsurface dam to tap the rainfall-run off component of the water cycle to enhance the availability of the water resources in the region. The study has great replicable value.