DELINEATION OF GROUNDWATER POTENTIAL ZONES USING GIS, REMOTE SENSING AND MULTI INFLUENCING FACTOR TECHNIQUES IN BANNU DISTRICT, KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

Abstract

Effective recognition of potential areas is essential for efficient groundwater utilization, planning, and management. In this particular study, the goal was to evaluate the potential for groundwater in Bannu district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. The research employed Spatial Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (S-MCDA) method, incorporating seven influencing factors: drainage, lineament density, rainfall, gradient, soil types, geological structure and land use/land cover. Each influencing factor was assigned a weight and score through the (MIF) technique. Depending on how each subclass affected aquifer recharge and groundwater potential, each influencing factor was assigned a weight: (A) for primary effects and (B) for secondary effects. The relative effect was determined by adding the respective weights of the primary and secondary effects (A and B). This yielded the score for each subcategory within each influencing parameter. These all parameters were then combined using a weighted overlay analysis in ArcGIS 10.8 to delineate groundwater potential regions, which are divided into five categories: very low, low, good, high, and very high potentiality. The results indicated that very high groundwater potential zones enclosed 26.17% of the area (306 km2), high potential covered 21.47% (251 km2), moderate potential covered 17.53% (205 km2), poor potential covered 21.72 % (254 km2) and very poor potential covered 13.08 % (153 Km2) of the total area. This study can be a helpful resource for upcoming investigation plans and offers insightful information for efficient groundwater harvesting and management.