Efficiency of Geospatial Technology and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for Groundwater Potential Mapping in a Semi-Arid Region

Ahmed M Masoud,Quoc Bao Pham,Ahmed K Alezabawy,Sherif A Abu El-Magd

doi:10.3390/w14060882

Ahmed M Masoud, Quoc Bao Pham + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/w14060882

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Abstract

The increasing water demand in Egypt causes massive stress on groundwater resources. The high variability in the groundwater depth, aquifer properties, terrain characteristics, and shortage of rainfall make it necessary to identify the groundwater potentiality in semi-arid regions. This study used the possibilities of multi-criteria decision approaches (MCDA), geographical information system (GIS), and groundwater field data to delineate potential groundwater zones in the Tushka area, west of Lake Nasser, South Egypt. Furthermore, groundwater potentiality identification can help decision-makers better plan and manage the water resources in this promising area. Eight controlling factors were utilized to achieve the objective of the present work using multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approaches, namely the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and frequency ratio (FR) models. The controlling parameters were integrated with the geographic information system (GIS) to develop the zones of groundwater potentialities. The results revealed that high and moderate-potential zones cover approximately 61% and 52% of the total area in the AHP and FR models, respectively. A total of 44 groundwater production wells along with the well yield were collected and used to validate the models. The results were evaluated using the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve. The best-performing prediction rates achieved by AHP and FR were 83% and 81%, respectively. Finally, the obtained results indicated that the AHP model achieved better performance than the FR model.

Highlights

Water shortage is one of the most critical global issues, especially in semi-arid and arid areas
The key objective of the current work is to delineate groundwater potential zones in the area west of Lake Nasser, Egypt, using analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and frequency ratio (FR) models, as new approaches used in this area, and compare these models to evaluate the efficiency of the application of groundwater potentiality mapping
The groundwater potential zones were estimated based on the AHP and FR models, considering the previously mentioned methodology applied to the eight most influential thematic layers

Summary

Introduction

Water shortage is one of the most critical global issues, especially in semi-arid and arid areas. Without proper management and evaluation of groundwater potentiality, the groundwater exploitation in this area has already begun through drilled wells for a long time, resulting in a decrease in the groundwater yield of some wells after a while. In this regard, the determination and assessment of groundwater potential areas can play a crucial role in increasing the long-term viability of projects, minimizing the risk of water shortage, and reducing drilling costs. The integration of geographic information systems (GIS) coupled with remote-sensing data and multi-criteria decision-making analysis approaches (MCDA) have been widely used for mapping potential groundwater zones [2–5]. Alternative approaches have been used to study water stress applying GIS indicators, geostatistical analysis, and the stochastic model [32,33]

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