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Purpose Gaya, the holy city of Hindus, Buddhists and Jains, is facing an acute shortage of potable water. Although the city is blessed with some static and dynamic water bodies all around the region, they do not fulfill the requirement of millions of public either inhabitants of the area or tourists or pilgrims flocking every day. Countless crowds, congested roads, swarming pedestrians, innumerable vehicles moving throughout the day and night have made the city into a non-livable one. The present status of surface water is a mere nightmare to the requirements of the people. Due to which, massive ground water pumping mostly illegally has added a grid in addition to the other socio-economic issues. Design/methodology/approach To focus on such problem, the ground water of the region was studied thoroughly by calculating the depth of water level, discharge, pre-and post-monsoon water table and specifically the storativity in ten different locations. Some data were acquired, others were assessed, and few are calculated to provide an overall view of the ground water scenario. Findings After a long and tedious field study, it was finally established from that static water level ranges from 2.45 to 26.59 m, below ground level (bgl), discharge varies from 3.21 m3/day to 109.32 m3/day. Post pumping drawdown falls between 0.93 m and 16.59 m, whereas the specific capacity lies in between 0.96 and 7.78 m3/hr/m. Transmissivity, which is a key objective to assess ground water potential ranges from 109.8 to 168.86 m2/day. Originality/value This research work is original.

Gondwana study terrain of Orissa, India has diverse geological, geophysical, hydrological, hydrogeological and meteorological information which have been integrated for extensive study. The study aims at acknowledging the geology and hydrogeology of the region backing up with the type and existence of aquifers around the region. To get the detailed features 225 observation wells, 40 National Hydrograph Network Stations (NHNS), 40 groundwater monitoring (GWM) stations and 83 exploratory wells were collected from different sources to analyse the groundwater occurrence in the study area. The data obtained were integrated and initiated for lithological distribution, groundwater flow directions, depth to water levels in pre- and post-monsoon. Limited aquifer thickness of unconfined aquifer and poor yield from deeper aquifers has been studied intricately. Groundwater occurrence has provided a paradigm to in-depth study in association with detailed lateral and vertical demarcation and behaviour of aquifers. Taking into consideration about lithology, the area can be hydrogeologically divided into consolidated, semiconsolidated and unconsolidated zones. The semi and unconsolidated zones are the groundwater potential zones where the aquifer remains under saturated condition. Though semiconsolidated zones bear abundant volume of water but hydrological parameters illustrate that they do have the potentiality for shallow water wells whereas the fissured and fractured zones in consolidated formations yield perennial source of groundwater illustrating deep borings.

Borehole samples drilled up to a depth of 10 m provide a clear understanding whether a foundation is safe for any structure. The main objective of the present study reconnoitered the soil bearing capacity and foundation settlement characteristics using the standard penetration test (SPT) data obtained from 3 boreholes at 1 m, 2 m, and 3 m depths to correlate soil properties and deterrents, if any, created by groundwater. The methodology of the research is to collect soil samples, and ensuing subsoil analysis was performed in order to obtain concrete information to optimize the foundation system within the safe bearing capacity of soil and its allowable settlement. The scope of the work encompasses conducting detailed soil investigation from drilling logs, laboratory testing, and conducting and estimating safe bearing capacity. The result of the research aims at providing safety to the foundation from the investigations of conclusive recommendation to be adopted which would be economically feasible and structurally secured.