scholarly journals An Approach to Delineate Potential Groundwater Zones in Kilinochchi District, Sri Lanka, Using GIS Techniques

Author(s):  
Vyddiyaratnam Pathmanandakumar ◽  
Nadarajapillai Thasarathan ◽  
Manjula Ranagalage

The scarcity of surface water resources in the dry season in the Kilinochchi district increases the demand for freshwater. Therefore, the existing groundwater resources should be managed to overcome the situation. Several authors worldwide have published studies on the delineation of potential groundwater zone. However, only a few studies addressed the delineation of potential groundwater zones in the Kilinochchi district. This study aims to delineate potential groundwater zones in Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka using integrated Remote Sensing, Geographic Information Systems, and Analytic Hierarchy Process techniques. Groundwater potential zones are demarcated for the Kilinochchi district by overlaying thematic layers: geology, geomorphology, land use/land cover, soil types, drainage density, slope, lineament, and rainfall. Saaty's scale was applied to the assigned weights of the chosen thematic layers and their features. The thematic layers were integrated into a Geographic Information System, and a weighted overlay analysis is carried out to delineate groundwater zones. Thus the resultant map is categorized into five different potential zones: very low, low, moderate, high, and very high. It was found that the very high groundwater potential zone is mainly found in the north-eastern part of the study area covering 111.26 km2. The upper north-western, middle, and eastern parts of the study area fall within the high groundwater potential zone covering about 507.74 km2. The moderate groundwater potential zones (309.89 km2) mainly occurred in the western part, and the extreme west part of the study area falls under low (207.78 km2) and very low (59.12 km2) zones. The groundwater potential map was validated with the existing seventy-nine wells, which indicated a good prediction accuracy of 81.8%. This research will help policymakers better manage the Kilinochchi district's groundwater resources and gives scope for further research into groundwater exploration in the area.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denisha Ponnusamy ◽  
N Rajmohan ◽  
Peiyue Li ◽  
M Thirumurugan ◽  
Chidambaram Sabarathinam ◽  
...  

Abstract The potential groundwater zones of the Maputaland coastal plain of Kwazulu-Natal is identified by comparing the Analytic hierarchy process (AHP)-Multi criteria decision-making (MCDM)techniqueand Boolean logical approach. The map of groundwater potential zones was prepared by generation and integration of 8 thematic layers, i.e. geology, geomorphology, lineament density, soils, slope, rainfall and land use. Each thematic layer wereassigned with subjective relative weights under AHP-MCDM technique and Boolean logic and were overlaid in aGIS platform to identify the groundwater potential zones. The groundwater potential zones were delineated under two different GIS techniques to obtain confident results. Weights of thematic layers were allocated using AHP normalized eigen vector methodology and weighted linear combination method was employed to find the groundwater potential index.Whereas in a Boolean approach, AND operator was appliedin order to integrate thematic layers to delineate the groundwater potential zones. The delineated groundwater potential maps using AHP-MCDM technique indicates that 6.0% (310.5 km2) from total area falls under very good; 67% (3467 km2) good; 25% (1294 km2) poor and 2% (103.5 km2) under very poor, whereas in Boolean logic about 70 % of the area (i.e. 3623 km2) constitutes good and 30 % (1552 km2) of the areasconstitutes poor groundwater potential zone. Further, the obtained results indicate thatthe geology, geomorphology, landuse and slope playeda vital role in groundwater recharge. Thispioneer study in maputaland coastal plainexplores the baseline data of the potential groundwater zones. The resultsemanating from this study can be used in further understanding of the available groundwater resources and can be helpful in future to find the suitable groundwater exploration sites in the area.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-44
Author(s):  
B. Pradeep Kumar ◽  
K. Raghu Babu ◽  
M. Rajasekhar ◽  
M. Ramachandra

Freshwater scarcity is a major issue in Rayalaseema region in Andhra Pradesh (India). Groundwater is the primary source of drinking and irrigation water in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Therefore, it is important to identify areas having groundwater potential; however, the current methods of groundwater exploration consume a lot of time and money. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)-based spatial model is used to identify groundwater potential zones in Anantapur using remote sensing and GIS-based decision support system. Thematic layers considered in this study were geology, geomorphology, soils, land use land cover (LULC), lineament density (LD), drainage density (DD), slope, and rainfall. According to Saaty’s AHP, all these themes and individual features were weighted according to their relative importance in groundwater occurrence. Thematic layers were finally combined using ArcGIS to prepare a groundwater potential zone map. The high weighted value area was considered a groundwater prospecting region. Accordingly, the GWPZ map was classified into four categories: very good, good, moderate, and poor. The very good GWPZ area is 77.37 km2 (24.93%) of the total study area. The northeastern and southeastern sections of the study area, as well as some medium patches in the center and western regions, are covered by moderate GWPZs, which cover an area of 53.07 km2 (17.10%). However, the GWP in the study area’s central, southwestern, and northern portions is poor, encompassing an area of approximately 79.31 km2 (25.56%). Finally, RS and GIS techniques are highly effective and useful for identifying GWPZs.


Author(s):  
E. E. Epuh ◽  
K. A. Sanni ◽  
M. J. Orji

Productivity through groundwater is quite high as compared to surface water, but groundwater resources have not yet been properly exploited. The present study is used to delineate various groundwater potential zones for the assessment of groundwater availability in Lagos metropolis using remote sensing and GIS and hydrogeophysics techniques. Landsat 8, SRTM, geological, soil, and rainfall data were used in the study to prepare various thematic maps, viz., geomorphological, slope, soil, lineament density, rainfall and land use maps. On the basis of relative contribution of each of these maps towards groundwater potential, the weight of each thematic map have been selected and assigned to each map. Hydrogeophysics investigation using Vertical Electric Sounding (VES) was applied to validate the remote sensing and GIS results. All the thematic maps have been registered with one another through ground control points and integrated using the weighted overlay method in GIS for computing groundwater potential index. Based on the methological approach, the ground water potential zones were delineated. The results showed that there are five categories of groundwater potential zones within the study area in which percentage values were contained in each of the categories thereby making major portion of the study area “high” and “moderate” prospect while a few scattered areas have “low” prospect. The very high potential areas are mainly concentrated along the River Alluvium while the “very low” prospect are majorly where there is sand and clay. The best groundwater potential zone is in the southern part due to the presence of fractures, swamp soils which have high infiltration ability and the presence of waterbody which is chiefly accountable for the groundwater recharge in any area. The VES data showed the depth of the aquifer for good water and the polluted aquifer within the study area.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirjana Radulović ◽  
Tijana Đorđević ◽  
Nastasija Grujić ◽  
Branislav Pejak ◽  
Sanja Brdar ◽  
...  

<p>Dramatic population growth and climate change lead to an increasing demand for groundwater resources. According to <em>The 2018 edition of the United Nations World Water Development Report</em>, nearly 6 billion people will face severe water scarcity by 2050. Groundwater represents the world’s largest available freshwater resource and it is essential for domestic purpose, industrial, and agricultural uses. Therefore, it is very important to identify the potential locations for new groundwater zones development. Here, we utilized geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) techniques for the delineation of groundwater potential zones in the Titel Municipality, located in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The groundwater in the study area is affected by elevation difference, agricultural production, and its geographical position. Titel Municipality has a very good agriculture potential that can be only fully exploited by improving groundwater management. Considering that, for the delineation of groundwater potential zones we prepared 6 thematic layers such as geology, geomorphology, land use/land cover, soil, drainage density, and slope. According to their relevant importance in groundwater occurrence, all layers and their features were assigned weights using the Saaty’s scale. Weights of layers were normalized using analytical hierarchical process techniques (AHP). Finally, layers were integrated and overlaid using QGIS software for generating the Groundwater Potential Zone (GWPZ) map of the study area. As a result, the groundwater potential zones in the Titel Municipality were characterized and classified into five classes as <em>very good</em> (7.13%), <em>good</em> (35.44%), <em>moderate</em> (21.27%), <em>poor</em> (31.41%) and <em>very poor</em> (3.11%). With these techniques, we showed that <em>very good</em> and <em>good</em> groundwater zones are predominantly located in the alluvial plain and the lower river terrace, while <em>poor</em> zones mostly evident on the landform of the loess plateau and artificial surface. The GWPZ map will serve as a useful guide for sustainable management and utilization of the region as well as to improve the irrigation facility and develop the agriculture productivity of the area.</p>


Author(s):  
Mehmet Fatih Dilekoglu ◽  
Veysel Aslan

Abstract The Ceylanpinar Plain is an important part of Upper Mesopotamia and one of the largest plains of Turkey, is in danger of facing water scarcity due to global climate change. For this reason, the potential of Groundwater Resources is important. In this study, groundwater potential zones in the Ceylanpinar Plain basin were investigated utilizing a weighted overlay analysis method combined with fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approaches and geoinformation technologies. The groundwater potential zone map was created using ten theme layers that were produced and processed in a GIS environment (GPZM). After that, possible groundwater zones were identified and classified into five categories: very good, good, medium, poor, and very poor. By assessing the present open well distribution and yield data of selected wells within the research catchment, the predicted GWPZ (groundwater potential zones) was confirmed. As a result, 17% of the study area was found to be very good, 39% good, 20% moderate, 21.4% poor and 2.6% very poor. This study provides a key estimate and crucial information for regional water administrators and officials in southeast Turkey by giving a map of the groundwater potential region, in order to ensure sustainable groundwater management.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Haveen Muhammed Rashid

Groundwater is one of the most important natural resources in the world. The presence of groundwater is the result of interaction of several factors such as: hydrology, geology, climate, ecology, and physiography. The purpose of this paper is to produce groundwater potential zones which are useful in determining the amount of groundwater available in Sulaimani Governorate, North of Iraq. Geographic information system database for six different thematic layers (digital elevation model, rainfall, soil texture, drainage density, slope and land use/land cover) were generated. The study approach involved integration of six layers carried out based on the multiplication of each data raster values with specific weight using weighted overlay analysis method. Raster maps of all the layers assigned a fixed score and weight using multi-influencing factor technique. Based on the resulted map the study area has been divided into four zones that had very high potential zone (1%), high potential zone (14%), moderate zone potential (79%) and low potential zone (6%). About 50% of the high groundwater potential zone were located in Halabja, Rania, and Pshdar districts. Obtained results can be useful in localizing areas of exploration, preventing excessive exploitation of groundwater and planning for suitable sites of artificial groundwater.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3b) ◽  
pp. 99-111
Author(s):  
JS Ejepu

The growing demand for freshwater for domestic and industrial purposes is a current challenge in the Upper Niger River Basin Development Authority area. Consequently, there is heavy demand for groundwater resources to meet this need. This challenge has worsened due to the non-incorporation of integrated methods in groundwater exploration campaigns. Innovative scientific principles and quantitative assessment of groundwater resources are required for sustainable and proper management of the resources. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to exploit the potential application of remote sensing, Geographic Information System (GIS), and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) techniques in mapping groundwater potential zones. To achieve this, seven factors deemed to have significant control over the occurrence and movement of groundwater viz. geology, lineament density, slope, drainage density, rainfall, land-use/land cover, and soil class were produced. These factors were assigned weights and normalized with respect to their relative contributions to groundwater occurrence using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). This resulted in groundwater potential zones that have been classified into four: Very good, Good, Moderate and Poor representing 7%, 27%, 43%, and 23% respectively. This result represents groundwater potential in the area and should be used as a preliminary reference in selecting prospective sites for detailed groundwater resource exploitation


Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 2656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javed Mallick ◽  
Roohul Abad Khan ◽  
Mohd Ahmed ◽  
Saeed Dhafer Alqadhi ◽  
Majed Alsubih ◽  
...  

Saudi Arabia’s arid and semi-arid regions suffer from water scarcity because of climatic constraints and rapid growth of domestic and industrial water uses. The growing demand for high-quality water supplies and to reduce the dependency on desalination creates an urgent need to explore groundwater resources as an alternative. The weighted overlay analysis method using the fuzzy-analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) techniques combined with geoinformation technology was used in this study to explore the groundwater potential zones in the Itwad-Khamis watershed of Saudi Arabia. Twelve thematic layers were prepared and processed in a GIS setting to produce the groundwater potential zone map (GPZM). Subsequently, potential groundwater areas were delineated and drawn into five classes: very good potential, good potential, moderate potential, poor potential, and very poor potential. The estimated GWPZ (groundwater potential zones) was validated by analyzing the existing open wells distribution and the yield data of selected wells within the studied watershed. With this quality-based zoning, it was found that 82% of existing wells were located in a very good and good potential area. The statistical analysis showed that 14.6% and 28.8% of the total area were under very good and good, while 27.3% and 20.2% were accounted for the moderate and poor potential zone, respectively. To achieve sustainable groundwater management in the Aseer region, Saudi Arabia, this research provided a primary estimate and significant insights for local water managers and authorities by providing groundwater potential zone map.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 669
Author(s):  
Abid Sarwar ◽  
Sajid Rashid Ahmad ◽  
Muhammad Ishaq Asif Rehmani ◽  
Muhammad Asif Javid ◽  
Shazia Gulzar ◽  
...  

The changing climate and global warming have rendered existing surface water insufficient, which is projected to adversely influence the irrigated farming systems globally. Consequently, groundwater demand has increased significantly owing to increasing population and demand for plant-based foods especially in South Asia and Pakistan. This study aimed to determine the potential areas for groundwater use for agriculture sector development in the study area Lower Dir District. ArcGIS 10.4 was utilized for geospatial analysis, which is referred to as Multi Influencing Factor (MIF) methodology. Seven parameters including land cover, geology, soil, rainfall, underground faults (liniment) density, drainage density, and slope, were utilized for delineation purpose. Considering relative significance and influence of each parameter in the groundwater recharge rating and weightage was given and potential groundwater areas were classified into very high, high, good, and poor. The result of classification disclosed that the areas of 113.10, 659.38, 674.68, and 124.17 km2 had very high, high, good, and poor potential for groundwater agricultural uses, respectively. Field surveys for water table indicated groundwater potentiality, which was high for Kotkay and Lalqila union councils having shallow water table. However, groundwater potentiality was poor in Zimdara, Khal, and Talash, characterized with a very deep water table. Moreover, the study effectively revealed that remote sensing and GIS could be developed as potent tools for mapping potential sites for groundwater utilization. Furthermore, MIF technique could be a suitable approach for delineation of groundwater potential zone, which can be applied for further research in different areas.


Author(s):  
Mary Christine Chepchumba ◽  
James M. Raude ◽  
Joseph K. Sang

Integration of Remote Sensing (RS) and the Geographical Information System (GIS) approaches in the field of groundwater resources management is a breakthrough. The RS and GIS geospatial approaches can enhance the assessment, monitoring, and conservation of groundwater resources. In this study, RS and GIS geospatial techniques were applied with the aim of identifying groundwater potential zones in Embu County, Kenya, based on selected multi influencing factors. Lineament layer was obtained by processing Landsat 8 ETM+ image using Principal Component Analysis in ENVI®4.7 and automatic extraction from Principal Component Image using the LINE module in Geomatica software. The resultant groundwater potential map showed that approximately 78% of the total area ranged from ‘high’ to ‘very high’ zones indicating that almost half of the study area has good groundwater potential. About 20% showed moderate potential while only 2% fell under the low potential zone. The proposed study approach can be used as a new way of modeling geospatial data for identification and mapping of groundwater potential zones. The study findings are useful to first-hand information planners and local authorities for assessment, planning, management and administration of groundwater resources in Embu County.


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