Sustainable Groundwater Potential Zoning with Integrating GIS, Remote Sensing, and AHP Model: A Case from North-Central Bangladesh

Ujjayini Priya, Muhammad Anwar Iqbal, Mohammed Abdus Salam, Md. Nur-E-Alam, Mohammed Faruque Uddin, Abu Reza Md. Towfiqul Islam, Showmitra Kumar Sarkar, Saiful Islam Imran and Aweng Eh Rak
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Ujjayini Priya: Department of Environmental Science and Disaster Management, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali 3814, Bangladesh
Muhammad Anwar Iqbal: Department of Environmental Science and Disaster Management, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali 3814, Bangladesh
Mohammed Abdus Salam: Department of Environmental Science and Disaster Management, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali 3814, Bangladesh
Md. Nur-E-Alam: Department of Environmental Science and Disaster Management, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali 3814, Bangladesh
Mohammed Faruque Uddin: Department of Sociology, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet 3114, Bangladesh
Abu Reza Md. Towfiqul Islam: Department of Disaster Management, Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur 5400, Bangladesh
Showmitra Kumar Sarkar: Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, Khulna 9203, Bangladesh
Saiful Islam Imran: Department of Environmental Science, Khulna University, Khulna 9208, Bangladesh
Aweng Eh Rak: Faculty of Earth Science, University Malaysia Kelantan, Jeli Campus, Jeli 17600, Kelantan, Malaysia

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-24

Abstract: Groundwater is one of the most valuable natural resources, and the most dependable source of fresh water. For sustainable groundwater management, the present study aimed to model groundwater potential zones in the north–central region of Bangladesh using GIS, remote sensing, and the analytical hierarchy process. The present study included eight thematic layers: lineament density, geomorphology, soil types, slope, land use/land cover, drainage density, elevation, and rainfall features to delineate a groundwater potential zone of the area. Integration of the eight thematic layers was performed through weighted overlay analysis, which assisted in delineating groundwater potential zones. This simple and systematic method successfully provides a satisfactory result concerning the delineation of groundwater potential zones. The study resulted in a groundwater potential zone map, which identifies about 11.51% of the study area as being under a very high groundwater potential zone, covering an area of 504.09 km 2 . The AHP analysis shows that the physiographical parameters, such as lineament density, slope, and drainage density, and meteorological factors such as annual rainfall, have greater influence over groundwater potentiality. The result obtained from the weighted overlay analysis was verified with actual well yield and groundwater depth data, which show a significant positive correlation. The outcome of the study will help in taking effective measures to ensure sustainable use and extraction of groundwater in this region.

Keywords: groundwater potential zone; groundwater sustainability; well yield; AHP; Bangladesh (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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