Hydrological Parameters And Aquifer Studies In Bolangir District

Bolangir is one of the severe drought prone and economically backward district of western Odisha, where average annual is scanty and erratic and the scope of surface water irrigation is limited resultingtosevere drought at times.Hydrology, georesistivity and exploratory drilling data were collected to find the soil type, rock structure and groundwater occurrences. It has been observed that, under favorable hydrogeological setup, the weathered and fractured rocks occurring at shallow depths provide good scope for storage of ground water. The weathered zones varies from 10 to 70 metre. These zones are generally encount act as aquifer in consolidated formation. The weathered rocks occurring below the top of soil mantle together with fractured rocks serve as in ideal space for storage and movement of ground water. Semico sand stone and shale belonging to lower Gondwana group are mostly seen in Agalpur block and act as good aquifer. Besides the above, weathered quartzite belonging to Cuddapah group of rocks, are also found in the Khaprakhol block. Some narrow strips of sandy aquifers are also encountered in the flood plains and in small valleys at close proximity of important rivers.