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This paper describes the application of environmental isotopes and injected tracer techniques in estimating the contribution of storms as well as annual precipitation to groundwater recharge and its circulation, in the semi-arid region of Bagepalli, Kolar district, Karnataka. Environmental isotopes H-2, O-18 and H-3 were used to study the effect of storms on the hydrological system, and an isotope balance was used to compute the contribution of a storm component to the groundwater. Some of the groundwater samples collected during the post-storm periods were highly depleted in stable isotope content with higher deuterium excess relative to groundwater from the pre-storm periods. Significant variation in deuterium excess in groundwater from the same area, collected in two different periods, indicates the different origin of air masses. The estimated recharge component of a storm event of 600 mm to the groundwater was found to be in the range of 117-165 mm. There was no significant variation in environmental tritium content of post-storm and pre-storm groundwater, indicating the fast circulation of groundwater in the system. After completion of the environmental isotope work, an injected radiotracer H-3 technique was applied to estimate the direct recharge of total precipitation to the groundwater. The estimated recharge to the groundwater is 33 mm of the 550 mm annual precipitation during 1992. Copyright (C) 2003 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.