GIS-based multi-criteria groundwater potential zone mapping using the AHP in water stressed area Chaj Doab, Pakistan

Syed Shajee Mehdi, Muhammad Miandad

Abstract


Groundwater is an important fresh water resource, which is readily available to humans on earth. Its depletion due to natural and anthropogenic reasons is a critical concern for regional development, prosperity and policy making particularly where an ancient civilization and major population exist. Accurate delineation of groundwater potential zones is a key factor for sustainable groundwater management, long-term conservation of aquifer resources and recharge planning. This study adopted Geographic information system (GIS), remote sensing, and field data to map Groundwater Potential (GWP) in the Chaj doab, a rapidly urbanizing and strategically important region located adjacent to Punjab's industrial triangle, making it an ideal case study for groundwater potential assessment. Groundwater occurrence and its movement is dependent on various physical and geomorphological parameters such as soil, rainfall, land use, geomorphology, drainage density, lineament density, and slope. A Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) based on Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) in the GIS environment was applied for weight determination of corresponding thematic layers and groundwater potential zones identification, classification and mapping. The result expressed very high potential zone comprises 8.2% (1635.17 km2), high 24.6% (4917.7 km2), moderate 31.8% (6351.5 km2), low 19.9% (3982.4 km2) and 15.2% (3049.8 km2) very low, respectively. Furthermore, this research study findings contribute to the scientific insights on groundwater dynamics in water depleting areas. The results show the efficiency of GIS, RS and AHP in examining the groundwater prospects and provide key tools for local and regional water resource management.

 

Keywords: Analytical Hierarchy Process, GIS, groundwater potential, multi-criteria decision making, overlay analysis


Keywords


Analytical Hierarchy Process, GIS, groundwater potential, multi-criteria decision making, overlay analysis

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References


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