2007
DISTRICT GROUND WATER BROCHURE
MADURAI DISTRICT
Government of India
Ministry of Water Resources
Central Ground Water Board
South Eastern Coastal Region
Chennai
1
DISTRICT AT A GLANCE (MADURAI DISTRICT)
[Link] ITEMS STATISTICS
1.
GENERAL INFORMATION
i. Geographical area ([Link]) 3742
ii. Administrative Divisions as on 31-3-2007
Number of Tehsils 7
Number of Blocks 13
Number of Villages 670
iii. Population (as on 2001 Censes)
Total Population 2578201
Male 1303363
Female 1274838
iv. Average Annual Rainfall (mm) 857.63
2.
GEOMORPHOLOGY
i. Major physiographic Units .Hilly Region & Plains of Madurai
and Melur regions
ii. Major Drainages .Vaigai, Gundar, Vaippur and
Pambar
3. LAND USE (Sq. km) during 2005-06
i. Forest area 484.73
ii. Net area sown 1530.82
iii. Cultivable waste 71.27
4. MAJOR SOIL TYPES Red soil, Black Soil & Sandy
Soil
5. AREA UNDER PRINCIPAL CROPS 1. Paddy - 70996 Ha – 94%
(AS ON 2005-2006) 2. Groundnut – 4537Ha –3%
3. Pulses – 9589Ha – 6%
4. Oil seeds – 20073 Ha – 12%
5. Non-food crops -37047 Ha-23%
6. Vegetables– 13174 Ha-8%
6. IRIGATION BY DIFFERENT SOURCES Number Area irrigated
(During 2005-06) (Ha)
i. Dug wells 53705 36953
ii. Tube wells 536 634
iii. Tanks 2287 18306
iv. Canals 80 36986
v. Other Sources - -
vi. Net irrigated area 92879 ha
vii. Gross irrigated area 99408 ha
2
7. NUMBERS OF GROUND WATER MONITORING WELLS OF CGWB
(AS ON31.03.2007)
i. No of dug wells 5
ii. No of piezometers 10
8. PREDOMINANT GEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS Granite gneiss, charnockites and
alluvium as patches along the
river
9. HYDROGEOLOGY
i. Major water bearing formations Alluvium weathered and
fractured crystallines
ii. Pre- monsoon depth to water level (May 2006) 3.13 – 7.66 m bgl
iii. Pre- monsoon depth to water level (Jan’2007) 1.86 – 5.74 m bgl
iv. Long term water level trend in 10 years (1998- Annual
2007) in m/yr Rise (m/year) Fall (m/year)
Min : 0.05 Min :0.01
Max :0.74 Max :0.93
10. GROUND WATER EXPLORATION BY CGWB (As on 31-03-2007)
i. Number of Exploratory wells 20
ii. Number of Observation wells 11
iii. Number of Piezometers under Hydrology 10
Project.
iv. Depth range(m) 80 – 202
v. Discharge(lps) < 1.00 - 21.72
vi. Storativity (S) 5.7x10-4 to 8.7x10-3
vii. Transmissivity (m2/day) 5 – 330
11. GROUND WATER QUALITY
AS ON MAY 2006
i. Presence of chemical constituents more than No3, TH as CaCO3 and F
permissible limit
ii. Type of water CaCl2, Nacl, NaHCO3 & mixed
type
12. DYNAMIC GROUND WATER RESOURCES
(as on 31.03.2004) in MCM
i. Annual Replenishable Ground Water 760.83
Resources
ii. Total Annul Ground Water Draft for all 425.83
purposes
iii. Projected demand for Domestic and Industrial 32.13
Uses up to 2025
iv. Stage of Ground Water Development 62%
3
13. AWARENESS AND TRAINING ACTIVITY
i. Mass Awareness Programmes Organized
Year 1999-2000
Place Sedapatti
No of Participants 300
ii. Water Management Training Organized
Date -
Place -
No of Participants -
14. EFFORTS OF ARTIFICIAL RECHARGE & Technical Guidance were
RAINWATER HARVESTING provided as when sought
i. Projects completed by CGWB Nil
Number of structures
Amount spent
ii. Projects under technical guidance of CGWB Nil
Number of structures
15. GROUND WATER CONTROL AND REGULATION
i. Number of OE Blocks 3
ii. Number of Critical Blocks 2
iii. Number of Blocks Notified Nil
16. MAJOR GROUND WATER PROBLEMS AND 1) Unbalanced ground
ISSUES. water development in
pockets in the district.
2) Insitu salinity problem
3) Mixing of sewerage with
existing surface water
bodies
4
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Administrative Details
Madurai district is having administrataive divisions of 7 taluks, 13 blocks
and 670 villages as detailed below.
[Link]. Taluk No. of Blocks No. of
Villages Villages
1 Madurai North 188 Madurai East 106
Madurai West 82
2 Madurai South 80 Tiruparunkundram 80
3 Melur 84 Melur 52
Kottampatti 32
4 Vadipatti 77 Vadipatti 31
Alanganallur 46
5 Usilampatti 54 Usilampatti 20
Chellampatti 34
6 Peraiyur 79 [Link] 39
Sedapatti 40
7 Tirumangalam 108 Tirumangalam 61
Kallikudi 47
Total 670 Total 670
1.2 Basin and sub-basin
Madurai district can be further subdivided into Vaigai, gundar, Vaipar and
Pambar sub-basins.
1.3 Drainage
Vaigai, a major ephemeral river originates in western ghats of Theni
district flow in NW-SE direction, in the central part of the district. In
addition, tributaries of Vaipar and Gundar drain in south-western part of
the district, while the tributaries of Pambar drained in north eastern part.
The general flow direction of the drainage is NW-SE.
1.4 Irrigation Practices
The nine-fold lands use classification for the district is given below.(2005-
06)
[Link] Classification Area (Ha)
1 Forests 48473
2 Barren & Uncultivable Lands 13154
3 Land put to non agricultural uses 74417
4 Cultivable Waste 7127
5 Permanent Pastures & other grazing lands 233
6 Groves not included in the area sown 4014
7 Current Fallows 7356
8 Other Fallow Lands 66317
5
[Link] Classification Area (Ha)
9 Net Area sown 153082
Total 374173
(Source: Department of Economics & Statistics, Govt. of Tamil Nadu)
The block wise and source wise net area irrigated in Ha is given below (2005-06).
S. Block Net area irrigated by Total
No Canals Tanks Tube Ordinary Other Net
wells wells Sources Area
irrigated
1 Madurai East 7860 0 0 1388 0 9248
2 Madurai West 5189 0 0 1298 0 6487
3 Tiruparunkundram 1950 940 0 3847 0 6737
4 Melur 9992 2620 8 1690 0 14310
5 Kottampatti 2562 4449 0 259 0 7270
6 Vadipatti 3658 1119 0 3330 0 8107
7 Alanganallur 2910 965 0 2752 0 6627
8 Tirumangalam 3 1860 25 3049 0 4937
9 Kalikudi 0 1977 6 1393 0 3376
10 Usilampatti 0 405 36 4683 0 5124
11 Chelampatti 2862 2033 482 3748 0 9125
12 Sedapatti 0 920 65 6917 0 7902
13 [Link] 0 1018 12 1965 0 2995
Total 36986 18306 634 36319 0 92245
(Source: Department of Economics & Statistics, Govt. of Tamil Nadu)
1.5 Studies/Activities carried out by CGWB
Central Water Board has carried out systematic hydrogeological surveys
and entire district has been covered by 1990. Since then periodically
Reappraisal Surveys/District Ground Water Management Studies have
been taken up to reassess the changes in ground water situations.
Central Ground Water Board had carried out exploration in the district and
had drilled 41 wells for gathering scientific information on occurrence of
fractures and their corresponding yield.
2.0 RAINFALL AND CLIMATE
Analysis of long term rainfall data (1901-2004) shows that the district
receives rainfall during NE monsoon (47%) , SW monsoon (32%), summer
(17%) and winter (4%).
The normal annual rainfall varies from 806 mm (Sholavandan Rain Gauge
Station) in the northern part to 964.1 mm (Melur Rainguage Station) in the
eastern part of the district. The entire district experiences a declining trend
in annual rainfall except at Melur, where a rising trend is noticed. The
climate is subtropical and the temperature varies from 15 to 41°C in the
district. The relative humidity varies from 45 to 85% and is high during NE
monsoon.
6
3.0 GEOMORPHYLOGY AND SOIL TYPES
3.1 Geomorphology
The prominent geomorphic units in the district are structural and
denudated land forms such as structural and denudational hills, residual
wells, linear ridges, uplands and barried pediments.
3.2 Soils
The district is characterised by Red soil, Black clayey soil and Alluvial soil.
Red soil is found in all the blocks of the district while black clayey soil is
found in Tirumangalam, Usilampatti and Peraiyur blocks of the district and
alluvial soil is found along the courses of the river.
4.0 GROUND WATER SCENARIO
4.1 Hydrogeology
The district is underlain predominantly by crystalline formations and
alluvium is found along the courses of the river. Ground water occurs
under phreatic conditions in weathered residuum and interconnected
shallow fractures and under semi-confined to confined conditions in
deeper fractures.
The depth of weathering varies from 20-25 m bgl in Usilampatti, Sedapatti
and Kottampatti area, while it varies from 30 to 40 m bgl in remaining parts
of the district.
The depth of dug wells varies from 10 – 20 m with a yield of 45 – 135 lpm.
In the exploration programme of Central Ground Water Board, 29% of the
wells yielded less than 1 lps while 30% of the wells yielded between 1 – 3
lps. In general there are about 2 – 3 fracture zones less than 50 m and
about 2 – 3 fracture form beyond 100 m also. The variation in the yield of
bore wells are very high in the district. Potential fractures with high
discharge have been established along Valandur-usilampatti-
Timmarasanayakanur, Thirali-Peraiyur tract and Palkalainagar-Nilayur
tract in the district.
The depth to water level in the district varies from 3.13 to 7.66 m bgl
during premonsoon (May 2006) and 1.86 to 5.74 m bgl during post
monsoon
4.1.1 Long Term Fluctuation (1998-2007)
The long term water level fluctuation for the period 1998-2007 indicates
rise in the water level in the order of 0.05 to 0.74 m/year while the fall in
the water level is in the range of 0.07 to 0.93 m/year.
7
4.1.2 Aquifer Parameters
i) Shallow Aquifer
Permeability :< 1 to 70 m/day
Specific yield : 1 – 2%
ii) Deeper fractured Aquifer
Transmissivity : 5 – 33 m2/day
Storataivity :5.7x10-4 to 8.7 x 10-3
4.2 Ground Water Resources
The ground water resources have been computed jointly by Central
Ground Water Board and State Ground & Surface Water Resources and
Development Centre (PWD, WRO, Government of Tamil Nadu) as on 31st
March 2004. The computation of ground water resources available in the
district has been done using GEC 1997 methodology. The salient features
of the computations are furnished below.
Stage of Groundwater Development of Madurai District, Tamil Nadu as on 31st March 2004
S. Name of Net Existing Existing Existing Allocation Net Stage of Categori-
No Groundwater Ground Gross Gross Gross for ground Ground zation for
Assessment Unit water Draft for Draft for Draft for Domestic water water Future
(Block) Avail- Irrigation Domestic all uses and Availabili Develop groundwat
ability and Industrial ty for -ment er develop-
industrial Requireme future ment
water nt supply Irrigation (Safe/Semi
supply upto next Develop- Critical/
25 years ment Critical/Ov
(2029) er
Exploited)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 Alanganallur 3854.48 3626.86 226.81 3853.67 236.25 -8.62 100 Critical
Over
2 Chellampatti 5792.15 5862.16 192.96 6055.12 200.98 -271.00 105 Exploited
3 Kallikudi 3428.95 1452.35 161.17 1613.52 167.87 1808.73 47 Safe
4 Kottampatti 5673.63 1008.54 226.25 1234.79 235.66 4429.43 22 Safe
5 Madurai East 7195.13 746.77 291.22 1037.99 303.34 6145.02 14 Safe
6 Madurai West 4822.32 1177.03 302.83 1479.86 315.43 3329.86 31 Safe
7 Melur 11288.27 728.63 269.25 997.88 280.45 10279.19 9 Safe
Over
8 Sedapatti 5000.11 6576.39 136.66 6713.05 142.34 -1718.63 134 Exploited
Semi
9 [Link] 2847.94 1972.38 178.77 2151.14 186.21 689.36 76 Critical
Semi
10 Thirumangalam 4867.89 3447.16 195.53 3642.70 203.67 1217.06 75 Critical
Semi
11 Thiruparunkundram 5218.35 3714.74 506.85 4221.59 527.93 975.67 81 Critical
Over
12 Usilampatti 3384.57 5900.17 145.73 6045.90 151.79 -2667.39 179 Exploited
13 Vadipatti 5100.95 3285.49 250.61 3536.11 261.04 1554.42 69 Safe
8
4.3 Ground Water Quality
Ground water in phreatic aquifer in general is colorless, odourless and
alkaline in nature. The specific electrical conductance of ground water in
phreatic zone during May 2006 varied between 632 -6520 µs/cm at 25°C
and in major part of the state it is less than 2200 µs/cm.
It is observed that ground water is suitable for drinking and domestic uses
in respect of all constituents except TH and NO3. It is found to be excess
of permissible limit in 34% of sample analysed in respect of TH and in
about 66% in respect of NO3. The high incidence of TH can be attributed
to geogenic causes while NO3 excess may be due to either excess use of
fertilisers or due to improper waste disposal.
In reference to irrigation suitability based on EC and Sodium Absorption
Ratio (SAR), the ground water in phreatic zone may cause medium to
very high salinity hazard and medium to high alkali hazard. Hence proper
soil management practices are to be adopted when the ground water from
phreatic aquifer is to be used for irrigation purposes.
In case of deeper fractures, the ground water is suitable for domestic and
irrigation purposes. However, the data of State Ground & Surface Water
Resources Data Centres shows that ground water in Pulipatti,
Chinnalatalai, Usilampati and Vikramapuram have fluoride concentration
more than the permissible limit.
4.4 Status of Ground Water Development
The estimation of dynamic ground water resources (as on 31.3.2004) have
shown that out of 13 blocks in the district, 3 blocks have been categorised
as over exploited and 2 blocks as critical. Dug wells are most common
ground water abstraction structure with depth range of 10 – 20 m bgl. The
yield of dug wells may vary between 45-135 lpm and can sustain for 4-6
hrs of pumping.
The fractures are generally limited to 100 m while limited fractures are
also available down to a depth of 175 m at few locations. The bore wells
may sustain a yield of 1 – 3 lps for 6 – 8 hrs of pumping.
5.0 GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
The ground water development is to be envisaged only in safe and semi
critical blocks. The shallow water level deems it fit to prefer dug well as
abstraction structures, tapping the entire weathered residium. As in most
parts of the district, shallow fractures are potential. The construction of
bores at the bottom of the wells may augment the yield. However, the
presence of fractures may be ascertained before the construction. Large
diameter collection wells can be a better option in the alluvial tract along
the river courses.
9
5.1 Groundwater Development
The map showing the development prospects for the district is shown in
Plate VI.
5.2 Water Conservation and Artificial Recharge
The topography of Madirai district, in general, is suited for construction of
various artificial recharge structures such as percolation ponds, check
dams and sub-surface dykes. However, detailed studies are necessary to
formulate a comprehensive scheme for artificial recharge of phreatic
ground water in the district in view of the variations in the geomorphic set-
up and the complex hydrological and hydrogeological conditions.
The number and type of artificial recharge structures recommended for all
the blocks in Madurai district are furnished in Table 1. The exact locations
of these structures, however, are to be decided on the basis of detailed
field investigations. The implementation of the schemes may be taken up
in phases, giving priority to blocks where the development of ground water
resources is comparatively high.
Free technical guidance for implementation of roof-top rain water
harvesting schemes is also being provided by Central Ground Water
Board.
6.0 GROUNDWATER RELATED ISSUES & PROBLEMS
The district is underlain by crystalline formations and ground water
potential is not uniform and is limited to areas having fractures. Out of 13
blocks, 3 blocks have been categorised as over exploited and 2 blocks as
critical. Thus the ground water development is more than 90% in about
38% of blocks. Thus there is a need for formulation of sustainable ground
water development plan.
10
The ground water from phreatic zone is suitable for drinking and domestic
purposes in respect of all constituents except TH and NO3.
In reference to irrigation suitability, based on EC and SAR, the ground
water from phreatic zone may came medium to very high salinity hazard
and medium to high alkali hazard.
7.0 AWARENESS & TRAINING ACTIVITY
One Mass Awareness campaign was conducted at Sedapatti during 1999-
2000 on the theme of “Ground Water Management Regulation and
Conservation”
The findings of exploration carried out by CGWB, geophysical
investigation for source finding and their limitation, ground water potential
of Masdurai district were explained to the gathering of about 300 people.
The technique of ground water management and need for regulation and
conservation was also explained in local vernacular language.
8.0 AREA NOTIFIED BY CGWA/SGWA
Central Ground Water Authority has not notified any area in the district.
Government of Tamil Nadu vide [Link]. 53 has banned groundwater
development for irrigation in the over exploited blocks of Tamil Nadu. The
over exploited blocks in this district are as follow.
1. Chellampatti
2. Sedapatti
3. Usilampatti
9.0 RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Artificial recharge has to be taken up urgently in the over exploited and
critical blocks/
2. It is necessary to augment the drinking water sources to make it
suitable by recharging the deeper fractures through recharge wells.
3. On the basis of experimented studies, it has been found that Check
Dam or Percolation Pond can not be cost effective unless it is
combined with recharge wells or shaft.
4. Desilting of existing tanks and supply channel will not only augment the
surface water resources for irrigation but also indirectly augment the
ground water sources. It is also found that desilting of tank is most
beneficial of all the recharge structures.
5. Suitable soil management practices are to be adopted in areas where
the ground water is found to have higher EC and SAR.
6. Proper sanitation facilities are to be initiated to avoid mixing of
sewerage in the surface water bodies.
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
PLATE - VI
CENTRAL GROUND WATER BOARD, SECR, CHENNAI.
GROUND WATER DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL AND
ARTIFICAL RECHARGE PROSPECTS
MADURAI DISTRICT, TAMIL NADU
18
LEGEND – PLATE FOR - VI
DISTRICT – MADURAI
OTHER INFORMATION
Published by: Regional Director, CGWB, SECR, E-1, Rajaji Bhavan, Besant Nagar, Chennai-90
+914424912941/24914494 /Fax : 91 4424914334 Web: [Link]
rdsecr-cgwb@[Link]
