Applications of GIS and Remote Sensing in Groundwater potential zoning of Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

Groundwater supplies across the world are under tremendous strain due to overuse and noticeable climatic changes over time. The requirement to assess groundwater potential and aquifer productivity rises along with the global need for potable water for human consumption, agriculture, and industrial applications. Because they are quick and will give first-hand knowledge on the resource for future projects, geographic information system-based studies have recently become quite popular in groundwater exploration. With this in mind, the current work uses remote sensing and GIS techniques to select and define groundwater potential zones for the evaluation of groundwater availability in the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, India.In the current work, an analytical hierarchical process approach (AHP) was combined with a geographic information system. For the purpose of defining the groundwater potential zone, a total of 12 thematic layers, including slope, rainfall, curvature, soil, drainage density, lineament density, topographic wetness index, land surface temperature, elevation, land use & land cover, lithology, and groundwater fluctuation, were taken into consideration. According to their qualities and water potential capacity as determined by the AHP technique, weights are allocated to each class in all thematic maps. To determine the groundwater potential zones, overlay analysis was performed after the creation of all the maps. The resulting groundwater potential zone map, which had a ground water potential index of 33, was divided into five classes which are ranging from very high to very low.