Identification of Water Potential Zones in Drought Prone Area’s – A Case Study of Rolla Mandal, Ananthapuram, Andhra Pradesh, India

Water resource Planning and Drought are the major issues leading to significant water shortages and economic losses to all social classes of people. In this paper we present two water management techniques to minimize drought. These water management techniques help, farmers to demarcate / conserve water potential zones especially in land locked areas to improve agricultural production. Relevant concepts are analyzed to strengthen these techniques they are: Rainwater analysis, Run-off analysis, Contour / slope analysis, Agricultural Drought Severity Analysis, Water resource planning, Water shed basin parameters and water requirement for different crops. The study first investigated the historical Ground water maps, Dry cell maps / Drought maps, Rainfall data, Crop production data, NDVI maps from 2005 – 2017. The Unique feature of the study is to demarcate water potential zones by using Bhuvan / US geological Survey / Remote Sensing data of different time lines. The main objective of the paper is to identify the water potential zones by using Weighted Overlay Analysis method (WOA). This paper provides scientific methodology of finding exact locations of the water potential zones in drought prone areas & helps to strengthen Sustainable Agricultural practices. In Future these zones helps to estimate the amount of water to be stored and the amount of water which can be used for future agricultural purposes.