Groundwater Potential Zone Mapping using AHP technique: A case study of Bankura district, West Bengal
Pinaki Mukherjee ;
Over-exploitation of groundwater and abrupt changes in climate over the years have imposed immense pressure on the global groundwater resources. In the recent years, the studies related to prospects of groundwater and its replenishment have gained much prominence and Geographic Information System (GIS) has been found to be an essential tool in this context. The present study has been undertaken with an objective to delineate the groundwater potential zone of a drought-prone district Bankura located in the state of West Bengal in India using a combination of GIS and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique. Four thematic layers such as Geology, Soil, Rainfall and Slope have been utilised for groundwater potential zone demarcation. Weights assigned to each class in all the thematic maps are based on their characteristics and water potential capacity through AHP technique. The groundwater potential zone map thus obtained was categorized into four classes-very poor, poor, moderate and good. The study reveals that about 75.94% of the study area is covered under moderate groundwater potential zone. The poor groundwater potential zones are observed in 22.79% of area.