Groundwater Potential Zone Mapping in the Ghaggar River Basin, North-West India, Using Integrated Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques

The immense dependence of the growing population on groundwater has resulted in depletion at a fast pace can be seen nowadays. Identifying a groundwater potential zone can be proved as an aid to provide insight to the decision-makers and local authorities for planning purposes. This study evaluated the delineation of groundwater potential zones using integrated remote sensing and GIS approach. Various thematic layers such as geology, geomorphology, lineament, slope, drainage, soil, land use/land cover, and rainfall were considered in this study as these have influence on the occurrence of groundwater and its cycle, and maps have been prepared in GIS domain. Afterward, appropriate weights were assigned to these layers based on multi-criteria decision analysis, i.e., Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Groundwater potentiality has been delineated in different zones (low, moderate, high, and very high) in the study region based on weighted overlay analysis. The study reveals zones with different groundwater prospects viz. low (1.27%), moderate (15.65%), high (75.54%), and very high (7.29%). The ground survey data provided by CGWB (Central Ground Water Board) of nearly 100 wells/dug wells/borewells/piezometers have been used for validation purposes, showing comparable results with the groundwater prospects zones. It also confirms that the majority of these wells fall under very high or high groundwater potential zones. They were also found to be thereby indicating that there is the existence of a permeable reservoir with considerable water storage in the subsurface. One of the most important issues for users and governments is groundwater depletion. Planning for the available groundwater resource is made easier by identifying the potential for groundwater (low to high).