Delineation of groundwater potential zones using analytical hierarchy process and GIS in Bhilangana Block of Tehri Garhwal District, Uttarakhand, India
Abstract
Groundwater is one of the most reliable freshwater resources globally, but overexploitation has led to declining water tables, deteriorating water quality, and increased water scarcity. These problems have raised serious questions about how sustainable groundwater management can be achieved. In recent times, geospatial techniques and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) have been increasingly applied to assess groundwater availability. This research aims to delineate groundwater potential zones in the Bhilangana Block using the above-mentioned methods. Initially, remote sensing data were employed to generate thematic layers, including geomorphology, geology, slope, elevation, drainage density, lineament density, soil, rainfall, and land use/land cover. Subsequently, these layers were integrated using a multi-criteria evaluation approach, and weights were assigned using AHP-based weighted overlay analysis. The resulting groundwater potential zones were classified into five categories: very low and low (over 45 %), moderate (35.05 %), high (16.66 %), and very high (3.81 %). The findings of this research offer insights into groundwater occurrence in the study area, which could be helpful for sustainable groundwater management and long-term planning of water resources.