Applications of Geospatial Technologies and Frequency Ratio Method in Groundwater Potential Mapping in Iyenda River Catchment, Konso Area, Rift Valley, Ethiopia

Abstract

The present study aimed to map the potential groundwater zones in the Iyenda river catchment, Konso area, Rift Valley, Ethiopia. The potential groundwater zones were defined in this study using a frequency ratio (FR) model. The following nine thematic layers were considered in the present study, such as lithology, lineament density, slope, drainage density, land use/land cover (LULC), topographic wetness index (TWI), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), drainage density, rainfall, and soil types. The above-mentioned thematic layers were prepared using primary and satellite data in the ArcGIS software environment. During fieldwork, thirty-four water points, including deep bore wells, springs, and hand pump locations, were collected using GPS. In the FR model, 24 well points were used to calculate the success rate, and the rest ten well points were used to calculate the prediction rate. Groundwater prospect zones were further categorized into three groups: very good, moderate, and very low. Low groundwater prospective zones account for 39.23% of the current study, whereas medium and high potential groundwater zones account for 38.33 and 22.44%. The area under curve (AUC) technique was used to examine the accuracy of the potential groundwater zones. The AUC value for the success rate prediction rate is 0.735 and 0.732, respectively, and the same indicates the model produces excellent results in the current study. The findings of this study may aid in effective water resources management in the present study area, allowing planners and decision-makers to design suitable groundwater development plans for a sustainable environment.