Abstract:
Groundwater depletion is a common issue in most of the parts of the country (PAKISTAN). This problem rises due to poor water management policy, urbanization, deforestation, arid climate, increasing population, unplanned use of irrigation water. Potohar Plateau is located in north-eastern Pakistan forming northern belt of Punjab, province of Pakistan. Identification of recharge zones is the key factor in groundwater recharge projects. The purpose of this research is to generate a final suitability map of groundwater recharge sites for Potohar Plateau. In this study, an analysis has been carried out to classify and demarcate possible groundwater recharge potential areas in the Potohar Plateau using integrated remote sensing and GIS techniques. Groundwater recharge potential depends on hydrological and geological conditions of land surface. The final suitability map is developed by using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) along with seven influencing parameters that are drainage density, curve number, land use land cover, evapotranspiration, rainfall, geology and slope. The method used, constitute the delineation and assigning weights to parameters. All the feature layers have been integrated through GIS analysis and the groundwater potential sites have been identified. Four zones have been identified for Potohar Plateau. The outcomes of this study demonstrated that good and excellent sites covered about 41.9% of the total area. Sensitivity analysis revealed that drainage density, rainfall, CN and slope were most the critical parameters in the research region. The generated final suitability map provide useful information to the water resources engineers, planners and decision makers for use in water management.
