Application of AHP and Geospatial Techniques to Delineate Groundwater Potential Zones of Dubrajpur Block, Birbhum District, West Bengal, India

Abstract

Abstract: Exploration of ground water potential zones is very much essential in a country like India because it is ground water that satisfies the need of drinking water in most of the rural areas of the country. Ground water is also used for different other domestic, agriculture as well as industrial purposes. In present days, Remote Sensing and GIS techniques are successfully being used to delineate ground water potential zones of an area by geographers and planners which gives more or less absolutely correct results and it is also very much cost and time effective. The present study attempts to delineate various groundwater potential zones of Dubrajpur Block of Birbhum District, West Bengal, India. In the present work, groundwater potential zonation mapping has been carried out by overlaying nine thematic layers such as geology, rainfall, drainage density, pond frequency, slope, lineament density, soil texture, geomorphology and landuse/landcover and by giving appropriate weightages to each significant parameter with respect to its influence on groundwater. On the basis of the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) model and GIS technology, five groundwater potential zones have been extracted in the study area comprising very good, good, moderate, poor and very poor groundwater potential zones.