Hydraulic Modelling for Flood Inundation Mapping to Assess the Impact of Check Dam in Araniyar River

Flood events pose significant challenges to communities and agricultural areas, necessitating flood modelling and mitigation strategies. Check dams are widely recognized as effective structures for flood mitigation and groundwater quantity and quality enhancement. Araniyar River is 108 km and flows through the states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. This study analyzes the hydrological impact of the Reddypalayam check dam, Araniyar river on flood mitigation and groundwater quality enhancement. This study focuses on the application of HEC-RAS flood routing modelling for generating a flood inundation map of the Araniyar River. The research aims to investigate the effectiveness of the check dam in reducing flood risks and improving the quality of groundwater used for irrigation purposes. The study is comprehensive of two main objectives: (1) Flood routing modelling to simulate inundation scenarios with and without a check dam, and (2) groundwater analysis to compare the groundwater quality before and after the rehabilitation of a check dam. To visualize the potential extent of flooding, flood inundation mapping is performed using Google Earth images. Additionally, a farmer survey is conducted to validate the effectiveness of the check dam in reducing flood risks and improving water quality. The research findings contribute to a better understanding of the benefits and effectiveness of check dams in flood mitigation and groundwater management.