Water is the most sought resource for human use. Owing to rapid population growth and urbanization as well as rising needs of power generation and modern industry, water has been a major concern, as could be seen from the recent attempts in international cooperation in conserving and utilizing the global water resources. Since water is a component of river basin, its role in river basin research cannot be over emphasized for without it a comprehensive appraisal of development potential of a basin can never be achieved. The present study provides various methods and techniques for evaluation of water resources in a basin. The Upper Vaigai basin, located in a rain-shadow region of Theni and Dindigul districts of Tamil Nadu, is one of the beneficiaries of the west flowing river Periyar. The first chapter unfolds the subject matter and procedure of the study. The second chapter gives a geographical background of the Upper Vaigai basin. Evaluation of surface and ground water resources along with climatic water balance are analyzed in the third chapter. The fourth chapter examines the development and utilization of surface and ground water resources and provides an insight into the problems and prospects of water resources. The final chapter summarizes the research work and outlines the future course of study.This sort of water resource studies are essential to help to modernize water use and find out measures in formulating efficient water use policies.
Dr. A. Ganesh is a renowned researcher in the field of water resources evaluation and management. His significant contributions to water resources using remote sensing, GIS and GPS can hardly be over emphasized. His findings have helped to map the surplus and deficit areas of water in various river basins of Tamil Nadu, India to analyze the surface and ground water resources and to evolve better water management practices. His academic visits include various universities and research institutions. He has to his credit fifty research papers and three books. His two-decade academic career has earned him many laurels. His reputation rests upon his research programs with various agencies. As a true scholar, he holds teaching and research as the two sides of the same coin. He has been guiding five PhD scholars. Having got Graduate Degree in Geography from Government Arts College, Coimbatore in the year 1975, he studied further and obtained Post-Graduate Degree from the Presidency College, Chennai in 1977. He earned his doctorate in Geography from the University of Madras, Chennai in 1985 for his work on Geographical Appraisal of Water Resources in Upper Vaigai basin, Tamil Nadu, Southern India under the guidance of Dr Vasantha Vishwanath, an eminent scholar in the field of Regional Climatology. During this period he got training in application of aerial and satellite remote sensing for resources evaluation at Survey of India, Bangalore and Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehra Dun. After a brief stay as a CSIR Post Doctoral Fellow, he moved over to School of Earth Sciences, Bharathidasan University, and Tiruchirappalli in 1987 as a Lecturer. Besides the concern on water resources, he admixed remote sensing and GIS techniques for a number of environmental problems. During May 1999, he has attended a training programme on Remote Sensing for Watershed Management sponsored by NASDA Japan conducted by the GIS Application Centre, Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand. He is life member of a number of professional societies related to Geography, Remote Sensing and Geomatics and also Chairman of Board of Studies in Geography and Remote Sensing in various universities and colleges. Dr. A. Ganesh is right now Professor and Head of the Department of Geography, School of Geosciences, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, India. He is engaged in conducting two programmes: M Tech in GIS Applications and UGC sponsored Innovative Programme on Post Graduate Diploma in Geomatics.