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Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) investigations were carried out in a costal terrain for locating freshwater pockets at Vizag Steel Plant. Hydrochemical study reveals that the total dissolved solids (tds) and chloride concentration range from 189 to 3,398 and 5 to 1,610 mg / l. The observed yield of drilled bore wells ranges from 1,300 to 4,900 lph.
Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) investigations were carried out in a costal terrain for locating freshwater pockets at Vizag Steel Plant. Hydrochemical study reveals that the total dissolved solids (tds) and chloride concentration range from 189 to 3,398 and 5 to 1,610 mg / l. The observed yield of drilled bore wells ranges from 1,300 to 4,900 lph.
Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) investigations were carried out in a costal terrain for locating freshwater pockets at Vizag Steel Plant. Hydrochemical study reveals that the total dissolved solids (tds) and chloride concentration range from 189 to 3,398 and 5 to 1,610 mg / l. The observed yield of drilled bore wells ranges from 1,300 to 4,900 lph.
Application of ground-penetrating radar for identification
of groundwater resources in a coastal terrain Ratnakar Dhakate & B. Amarender & V. Satish Kumar & S. Sankaran & V. V. S. Gurunadha Rao Received: 5 June 2013 / Accepted: 23 July 2014 #Saudi Society for Geosciences 2014 Abstract Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) investiga- tions were carried out in a costal terrain for locating freshwater pockets at Vizag Steel Plant (VSP), Vishakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. The entire area is underlain by recent alluvial which consists of sand, clay, and silt with basement as Kondalitic rock forma- tion. GPR is a surface geophysical method that de- pends on the emission, transmission, reflection, and reception of electromagnetic pulses and can produce continuous high-resolution profiles of the subsurface rapidly and efficiently at any desired location. The interpretation of radar records requires little or no processing. Based on GPR investigations, four loca- tions were recommended for drilling of bore well at VSP, Vishakapatnam. The drilled bore well was found to yield good water to meet the demand of VSP, Vishakapatnam. Hydrochemical study reveals that the total dissolved solids (TDS) and chloride concentration range from 189 to 3,398 and 5 to 1,610 mg/l. The eastern and northeastern parts of the study area have elevated concentration of TDS and chloride, indicating intrusion of saline water. TDS concentration of drilled bore well was found to range from 200 to 700 mg/l. The observed yield of drilled bore wells ranges from 1,300 to 4,900 lph. Keywords Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) . Total dissolved solids . Vizag Steel Plant (VSP) Introduction Groundwater is considered as one of the promising sources for drinking, agriculture, and industrial use, where inadequate surface water is not available. Identification of groundwater sources in hard rock terrain is a difficult task, as the hard rock is devoid of primary porosity. In a coastal terrain, identifica- tion and demarcation of freshwater pockets are again a diffi- cult task, as the clay, silt, and saline water possess similar geophysical signatures. Several potential and nonpotential geophysical methods were adopted for identification of groundwater sources. In recent years, much sophisticated instruments and methods are available for identification of groundwater sources, such instruments and methods were easy to carry out field investigation at any desired locations where inade- quate space is not available. There has been always a require- ment for acquiring high resolution near surface ground anom- alies rapidly and economically which gives more fruitful results. However, until recently, there were no methods that meet the above requirements. Over the past few decades, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) techniques have been used to solve many problems where high-resolution mapping of ground surface is from few centimeters up to 50-m depth. Applications of GPR techniques are abundant and include mineral, groundwater exploration, geotechnical, archaeologi- cal investigations, rock mechanics, and mine development. Some specific applications are mapping of bedrock depth, stratigraphic mapping, sedimentology, changes of rock type, fractures in bedrock, soil strata, soil moisture, environmental and contamination, hydraulic properties of subsurface, and water table, etc. (Baker 1991; Beres and Haeni 1991; Beres et al. 1995; Buynevich and FitzGearald 2003; Conyers and Goodman 1997; Corbeanu et al. 2001; Davis and Annan 1989; Doolittle et al. 2006; El-Behiry and Hanafy 2013; Hammon et al. 2002, Hanafy and Al Hagrey 2006; Hubbard R. Dhakate (*) : B. Amarender : V. S. Kumar : S. Sankaran : V. V. S. G. Rao Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), National Geophysical Research Institute, Uppal Road, Hyderabad 500007, India e-mail: dhakate.ratnakar@gmail.com Arab J Geosci DOI 10.1007/s12517-014-1567-8 et al. 1997; Odah et al. 2013; Huisman et al. 2003; Jol et al. 2002; Kowalsky et al. 2005; Knight 2001; Lambot et al. 2004; Neal and Roberts 2000; Rashed and Al-Garni 2013; Neal et al. 2003; Shukla et al. 2008; Shaaban et al. 2013; Aqeel et al. 2014; de Menezes Travassos and de Tarso Luiz Menezes 2004; Van Overmeeren 1994, 1998; Van Dam and Schlager 2000; Wollschlaeger and Roth 2005; Wollschlaeger et al. 2004). GPR offers a high-resolution sounding capability with detection of features of the order of a few tens of millimeter thickness to several meters. GPR has been demonstrated to sound depths of 50 m in low conductivity (<1 S/m) mate- rials such as sand, gravel, rock, and freshwater. The range decreases to a few meters in conductive materials such as clays, silts, and soils with saline or contaminated pore water. Vizag Steel Plant (VSP), Vishakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India, is one of the core steel-producing plant operating under Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited. VSP is the main producers of Wire Rods, Rounds, Reinforce- ment Bars, Angles, Channels, Beams, Blooms, and Bil- lets, etc. VSP set up the expansion of its plant to increase its production from 3.6 to 6.3 MT per year for which water is required. In order to locate the favorable zones in plant and township premises, GPR investigations were carried out. VSP is situated on a mudflat, fluvial plain, and recent alluvial formation and having saline intrusion problem. Based on GPR investi- gations, few sites were recommended for drilling of bore wells and found to be successful; the results of GPR investigation were discussed in the article. Study area The s t udy ar ea i s about 30 km away f r om Vishakapatnam city. The area falls on Survey of India Toposheet No. 65 O/2 and O/3 with longitude 83 5 to 83 15 east and latitude 17 35 to 17 40 north. The total area of VSP is around 11,000 ac, and township area occupies around 12,000 ac. Presently, VSP is with- drawing surface water from Kanithi Balancing Reservoir (KBR) for maintaining their cooling towers. There are four bore wells in steel plant area and about 50 bore wells in the township area of which about 30 bore wells are giving poor yield and/or go dry in summer seasons. The key map along with the study area is shown in Fig. 1. Geology Geology of Visakhapatnam and its surroundings was ma p p e d b y Ki n g ( 1 9 8 6 ) ; Ma h a d e v a n a n d Sathapathi (1949). Harbor area is in marine tidal flat, and a par t i s cr os s i ng t he f l uvi al pl ai n of Mehadrigedda. Prithiraju and Vaidyanadhan (1978) re- ported 18-m thickness of marine clay followed by weathered rock toward the south. Natarajan et al. (1979) reported 1017 m of loamy sandy clay or fine clay near Balacheruvu and 4080-m thickness of ma- rine clay north of Tummedalametta. Major geological formations covering the study area show predominant Khondalite group and metamorphosed groups of rocks. The rocks of Khondalite group constitute the dominant component of the Eastern Ghats, form contin- uous hill ranges in the Eastern Ghats proper and as isolated ridges, hills and mounds in the midst of migmatites at lower elevations and in the adjoining coastal plains. Migmatization of Khondalite, Charnokite, and pyroxene granulites gave rise to a variety of rock types. The migmatites, predominantly occurring along the foot hills and coastal plains, are associ- ated with intrusive granitic rocks. Laterites occur as their capping on hill tops and high grounds. These are present in hill tops of Yarada hill and Simhachalam hill and in situ in nature. Along foot hills, lateritic gravel occurs. At places, it is cemented to form colluvial laterites or laterized colluvium. However, the extent of laterites is rather limited and does not form aquifers. Surficial deposits include colluvium, alluvi- um, red sediments, and coastal sediments. Colluvium is debris material along the foot hills essentially derived from Khondalite hill ranges by fluvial action. It is composed of sand, silt, clay, and gravel in varying proportions. The thickness of colluvium varies widely depending on bedrock configuration. Alluvium is confined to major stream course of Boremmagedda only. The alluvium extends as a narrow strip along the stream course, and thickness is <5 m. Quaternary sediments are of both fluvial and marine regimes. The fluvial sediments are restricted to river courses, in the form of flood plains mostly comprising brown silty clay. Channel bars and active channels contain brown silts and coarse sand. The marine sedi- ments of active beach and tidal flat are seen in the narrow coastal plain. The steel plant was actually built on a mudflat area. Alluvial plains are flat and gently sloping zone formed by deposition of fluvial borne sediments. It is composed of unconsolidated sediments of gravel, sand, and clay in varying proportions with variable depths. Occurrence of thick weathered zone has been found beneath the sediments. The nature of allu- vial plain varies from near flat to rolling plain. Mudflats are a low-lying tidal flat generally barren and is com- posed of unconsolidated sediment comprising fine silt, clay, and mud in varying proportions mixed with shells, kankar, and saline in nature. The geological map of the Vishakapatnam is shown in Fig. 2 (GSI 2001). Arab J Geosci 83.12 83.14 83.16 83.18 83.2 83.22 83.24 LONGITUDE (in Degree) Salt pans 0km 2km 4km 70 75 80 85 90 95 LONGITUDE (in degree) 10 15 20 25 30 35 L A T I T U T E
( i n
d e g r e e ) INDIA 17.58 17.6 17.62 17.64 17.66 17.68 L A T I T U D E
( i n
D e g r e e ) 1 2 3 4 VSP Township VSP Plant 1 Location of Ground Penetrating Radar & drilled borewell Fig. 1 Key map showing the location of study area, ground-penetrating radar investigation location and drilled bore well location at Vizag Steel Plant, Vishakapatnam Arab J Geosci Hydrogeology Groundwater occurs in all the formations in the area. Howev- er, nature and occurrence depend on various factors like rainfall, topography, landform, geology, and structure. Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has made an inventory of 203 dug wells. In addition, 325 bore wells fitted with hand pumps were also examined in Visakhapatnam district. Further, the lithologs of bore wells drilled by State Groundwater Department, Vishakapatnam, were also collected to study subsurface lithology and groundwater yield. With regard to groundwater, the geological formations of the area are classified into two types, hard crystalline rocks and unconsolidated sediments. Crystalline rocks are Khondalites; Charnokites, gneisses, and granites are grouped as hard rocks, while red sediments, colluvium, alluvium, and coastal sands are unconsolidated forma- tions. The area is characterized by red loamy soil in the northern part and red sandy soils in the southern part. Coastal alluvial and sandy soils are seen in the coastal plain. A patch of lateritic soil occurs in the northeastern part. The tidal flat (mudflat) is unconsolidated to semiconsolidated sand, silt, and clay. Groundwater occurrence in Khondalitic rocks The hard Khondalite crystalline rocks lack of primary porosity. The groundwater occurrence and movement are usually limited to the secondary porosity developed through weathering and fracturing. As a result, the groundwater prospects are limited and depend on the degree and depth of fracturing and weathering. The thickness of weathering varies from place to place depending on local topography, lithology, and structure. Similarly, intensity of fracturing also varies widely. These aqui- fers are anisotropic and nonhomogeneous, as such hydrogeological conditions vary widely within short distances. Fig. 2 Geology of the Vishakapatnam Arab J Geosci Groundwater occurs under water table conditions under weathered residual and semiconfined to confined conditions in deeper fractured zones. The thickness of weathering varies from 5 to 45 m. The lithologs indicate more weathering in Khondalite rock. The weathered zone in Khondalites is gen- erally more porous due to high quartz content. The feldspathic gneiss gives rise to clayey weathered zone, while charnockites by virtue of their texture are massive in nature and are more resistant to weathering. The intensity of fracturing has been found to be more in Khondalites compared to Charnokite rocks. Dug wells and bore wells that are in use for groundwa- ter pumping indicate poor storage nature of the formation. All dug wells are large diameter wells >8 m. The depths of the dug wells are varying from 4 to 16 m, while the general depths are being 812 m. The depths of bore wells are varying from15 to 60 m, the general depth being 30 m. The main landforms are structural ridges or hogbacks with intermittent softer migmatic rocks forming low plains referred to as pediplainpediment complex. In pedimentpediplain, KhondaliticCharnokite terrain groundwater occurrence is restricted to 60-m depth. The aquifers have secondary intergranular porosity, and aquifers are mostly discontinuous in nature. Northern and northwestern parts have high elevations with later- itic capping which form plateaus. The coastal plain is made of beach ridges, tidal flats, and lagoons. Ground- water in the major part of the area is controlled by fracture rocks. The groundwater potential is high along the fractures and low to moderate away from fractures. The permeability of the rocks is 0.52 m/day, and specific yield is 0.0050.025. Occurrence of groundwa- ter is confined to shallow depths in floodplains. Quality of groundwater suffers in the coastal plains, but potable water is tapped from shallow depths in the beach ridges. Groundwater quality In order to assess the groundwater quality at VSP and township premises, 38 groundwater samples from existing bore well/dug well were collected with in situ measurements of pH and total dissolved solids (TDS) (Sankaran et al. 2012). The samples were analyzed for major ions to understand the groundwater quality. TDS concentration of these samples ranges from 189 to 3,398 mg/l; the samples show high TDS concentration along the eastern and northern part of the area. More than 50 % of samples, the TDS concentration was higher than the permissible limit of drinking water stan- dards (WHO 1993) which shows its nonsuitability for drinking and has saline in nature. Similarly, the chloride concentration ranges from 5 to 1,610 mg/l; the samples show high chloride concentration along the eastern and northern part of the area, which is correlated with the variation of TDS concentration. This shows that the water quality along the eastern and northern part of the area has saline in nature and it is not suitable for drinking purpose. The spatial distribution of TDS and chloride concentration is shown in Fig. 3a, b. Principle of GPR GPR is also known as ground-penetrating radar; subsurface- penetrating radar, subsurface radar, geo-radar, or impulse ra- dar is a nondestructive geophysical technique which detects electrical discontinuities in the shallow subsurface using a system setup that can generate, transmit, receive, and record the discrete pulses of high-frequency (1 to 1,000 MHz) elec- tromagnetic energy (Neal 2004). Although the technique has been employed in variety of sedimentary environments. In geological material, the propa- gation of electromagnetic waves is controlled by properties like relative dielectric permittivity (r), relative magnetic per- meability (r), and electrical conductivity (). Table 1 shows the dielectric values for common material including water (Conyers and Goodman 1997). When a propagating electro- magnetic wave encounters a distinct discontinuity with re- spect to dielectric permittivity, magnetic permeability, or elec- trical conductivity, some energy is reflected back which is proportional to the magnitude of the relative change in these properties (Reynolds 1997; Van Dam and Schlager 2000). Very commonly, the water table, sedimentary structures, and lithological boundaries become visible in radar profiles. A depositional (bedding) plane in sediments is a product of changes in sediment composition and changes in size, shape, orientation, and packing of grains (Collinson and Thompson 1989). A number of studies have successfully shown relation- ship between the GPR reflections and sedimentary structures especially with the help of rigorously processed data (Annan 1999; Neal and Roberts 2000; Corbeanu et al. 2001; Jol et al. 2002; Hammon et al. 2002; Buynevich and FitzGearald 2003; Neal et al. 2003; Neal 2004). The technique has been success- fully employed using GPR system in India wherein the cor- relations between the reflections and subsurface reflectors were established by trenching (Sridhar and Patidar 2005; Maurya et al. 2006). GPR data acquisition and interpretation GPR tool has the advantage of providing high-resolution images of the subsurface at a scale varying from few centime- ters to few meters (Annan and Cosway 1994; Knight 2001). The GPR data acquired using Terra SIRch System-3000 sin- gle-channel GPR meter (Geophysical Survey System Inc.), Arab J Geosci Fig. 3 a, b Spatial distribution of TDS and chloride concentration (mg/l) in the VSP area Arab J Geosci USA made, and processed by RADAN 6.0v software. The field photographs of the GPR survey (Fig. 4a, b) carried out in VSP illustrating the survey was carried out in point mode. Multiple GPR profiles were carried out in VSP and township premises in time mode (continuous mode) using setup given in Table 2. The basic processing operations applied were stacking and zero correction. Stacking has been applied to prune the data size; zero correction is applied to correct for the first arrival. The positions of reflections corresponding to the change in the dielectric constant and electrical conductivity are deciphered from the GPR image. The interpreted GPR image is also called as radargrams. The advanced features in RADAN 6.0v software like local peaks and Hilbert transform to extract the configuration of subsurface horizons. The local peak module is applied on the data to pick the maximum peaks corresponding to significant reflections. Besides, the Hilbert transform is applied on the data to map how the injected energy/radar pulse is captured by the media and how it is filtered through the media. The magnitude part of the Hilbert transformindicates the pattern of absorbance of the incident energy of the GPR, whereas the phase component indicates how the incident energy is filtered in the subsurface. The success of Hilbert transform in identifying the edges of electrical conductivity contrasts in the subsurface. In the pres- ent exercise, the Hilbert transform is implemented on GPR data to identify the zones of conductivity contrast. Result and discussion In order to assess the groundwater conditions in the VSP and township premises, few GPR profiles of 1030-mlength were carried out (Sankaran et al. 2012). GPR investigations were carried out to arrive at better resolution of subsurface layers for recommendation of bore wells at VSP and township premises. Based on GPR investigations, four sites were rec- ommended for drilling of bore wells. The locations of recom- mended GPR profiles are shown in Fig. 1. Table 1 Dielectric values for common material Material Dielectric value Velocity (mm/nS) Air 1 300 Water (fresh) 81 33 Water (sea) 81 33 Coastal sand (dry) 10 95 Sand (dry) 36 120170 Sand (wet) 2530 5560 Silt (wet) 10 95 Clay (wet) 815 86110 Clay soil (dry) 3 173 Marsh 12 86 Agricultural land 15 77 Pastoral land 13 83 Average soil 16 75 After Conyers and Goodman (1997) Fig. 4 a, b Field photographs of the GPR survey carried out in point mode in VSP area Table 2 Configuration/specification and ranges used for GPR investiga- tion at VSP Configuration/specification Range Antenna used 40 MHz Dielectric constant 08 Range 800 nS (nanosecond) Samples per scan 512 Resolution 16 bits Number of gain points 05 Vertical high pass filter 10 MHz Vertical low pass filter 80 MHz Scan per second 32 Transmit rate 12 KHz Arab J Geosci The first bore well was recommended and drilled at Pump House No. 18 at VSP where GPR profile of 20-m length was carried out using the configuration (Table 2) and interpreted as mentioned in data acquisition chapter. The entire drilling activities were observed, and lithologs were collected during drilled time, and analysis was made in situ. The drilled lithologs show sand and coarse to fine gravel up to 10-m depth followed by fine gravel up to 15- m depth. From 15- to 40-m depth, a fractured hard rock was encountered in hard rock formation. The water is struck at 20-m depth. After 50-m depth, another zone of fractured rock encountered followed by hard rock. The in situ yield of this bore well was around 2,000 liter per hour (lph). The observed drilled lithologs at this location are shown in Fig. 5a. The observed drilled lithologs very well correlate with the GPR image (radargam) carried out at this location (Fig. 6a). The radargram shows that up to 20- m-high reflections were observed suggesting that the stra- ta is highly saturated; below this portion, less reflections were observed after 20-m depth indicating a hard rock with fractures. The radargram is almost correlated with the drilled bore well litholog. The radargram is shown in Fig. 6a. The second bore well was recommended and drilled at Pump House No. 21 at VSP where GPR profile of 20-m length was carried out using the configuration (Table 2). The drilled litholog was collected, and analysis was made in situ. The drilled lithologs show clayey sand up to a depth of 20 m followed by sand layer up to 25-m depth. After 25 m, quartz gravel was encountered up to 35 m with water struck at 30-m depth. Again, quartz gravel was observed up to a depth of 50 m; below this, sand and fine gravel were noticed up to 70 m followed by a gravel zone up to 85 m with hard rock as basement. The observed drilled litholog is shown in Fig. 5b. The observed drilled litholog when correlated with radargram shows dark image (less reflection) up to a depth of 5 m due to presence of clay, as clay absorbs most of the reflected signals and fewer reflections occurred. After 5-m depth, the radargram becomes quite bright up to a depth of 20 m as more reflections were received by antenna, this is because of the presence of sandy layer. After 20 m, Fig. 5 a, b Observed drilled bore well lithologs at Pump House No.18 and Pump House No.21 Arab J Geosci the moderate reflections were observed in the radargram due to presence of sand and gravel up to a depth of 30 m; after 30 m, the signals become weak, and poor reflections were observed in the radargram, indicating compactness of the subsurface which is well noticed in the drilling, as at this depth, quartz gravel was encoun- tered. The radargram is shown in Fig. 6b. The drilled bore well yields water around 3,200 lph. Third, bore well was recommended and drilled at Cooling Tower No.14 and Pump House No.11 where GPR profile of Fig. 6 a, b Radargram image after application of filters, deconvolution, velocity analysis, and migration interpretation techniques carried out at a Pump House No.18 (Bore well No. 1), b Pump House No. 21 (Bore well No.2) Arab J Geosci 20-m length was carried out. The drilled litholog shows clay formation up to a depth of 5 m; below this zone, a gravel formation is encountered up to a depth of 10 m; below this, a sand and gravel formations were noticed up to a depth of 20 m. The water struck at 20-m depth. After 20-m depth, a zone of coarse to fine sand forma- tion was encountered up to a depth of 60 m; below this, a sand and gravel zone was encountered up to 70-m depth followed by hard rock formation. The observed litholog of this bore well is shown in Fig. 7a. The radargram is perfectly matched with the observed drilled litholog. The top portion of the radargram shows dark portion up to a depth of 5 m due to poor reflections indicating presence of clay, as most of the signals get absorbed in clay. After this, more reflections were ob- served up to a depth of 20 m, as this formation contains gravels, sand, and gravels with highly saturated with water; after this, moderate reflections were observed up to a depth of 42 m which indicate a sand formation, as fine sand absorbs the signals, but due to presence of moisture, some signals get reflected. The radargram is shown in Fig. 8a. The drilled bore well yields water around 1,300 lph. The fourth bore well was recommended and drilled near NewTreatment Plant No.7 (Between Old &New) where GPR profile 20-mlength was carried out. The drilled litholog shows coarse sand up to a depth of 10 mfollowed by sandy clay up to a depth of 15 m. After 15-m depth, a quartz gravel was encountered up to depth of 25 m, and water is stuck at 20-m depth. After this, a quartz gravel zone continues with fractured rock up to a depth of 60 m followed by fractured zone up to 70 m with hard rock as basement. The observed litholog of this bore well is shown in Fig. 7b. The observed drilled litholog when correlated to radargram is almost matched. The radargram shows more reflections up to a depth of 20 m due to the saturation condition of the formation, followed by moderate reflections due to the presence of quartz gravel fractured formation up to a depth of 40 m. The radargram is shown in Fig. 8b. The drilled bore well yields water around 4,000 lph. TDS concentration zone of 7001,700 mg/l and chlo- ride concentration zone of 200600 mg/l are indicated Fig. 7 a, b Observed drilled bore well lithologs at Pump House No.11 and Near Treatment Plant No. 7 Arab J Geosci in Fig. 3a, b. The drilled bore well lies in the zone of salinity nature of groundwater. The maximum permissible limit TDS concentration is 1,000 mg/l, and chloride concentration is 250 mg/l for drinking purpose (WHO 1993). Accordingly, this drilled bore well gives rise to high TDS and chloride concentra- tion. The measured TDS concentration of drilled bore well is around 200700 mg/l within the permissible limit of drinking purpose. Clay Sand and Gravel Fine Coarse Sand Water Struck Recommended site for drilling of bore well a b Fig. 8 a, b Radargram image after application of filters, deconvolution, velocity analysis, and migration interpretation techniques carried out at a Cooling Tower No. 14 (Bore well No. 3), b Near Treatment Plant No. 7 (Bore well No.4) Arab J Geosci Conclusion GPR investigations were carried out in a coastal terrain for locating freshwater pockets. GPR investigations were found to be fast, accurate, and can be carried out at any desired locations with good resolution of the subsurface up to a depth of few centimeters to few tens of meters. The recommended sites for drilling of bore wells based on GPR investigations were found to be good yield wells. In situ measurements of TDS of drilled bore wells range from 200 to 700 mg/l. The observed drilling lithologs were well correlated with GPR images. The yield of the drilled bore well ranges from 1,300 to 4,900 lph. Acknowledgments Authors express their thanks to Director, NGRI, Hyderabad for his continuous support for the research activity. Authors are also grateful to the staff of Water Management Department, VSP, Vishakapatnam for providing necessary support throughout investiga- tions. Authors are also thankful to honorable reviewers for giving their valuable suggestions and comments for the improvement of the scientific content of the manuscript. Authors are thankful to the Editor of the journal for his kind support and encouragement. 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