Identification of groundwater potential zone using geospatial techniques of agriculture dominated area in Dinajpur district, Bangladesh

Abstract

Overexploitation of ground water for agriculture, household, industrial and other purposes create water scarcity in agriculture dominated Dinajpur area, a northern district of Bangladesh. To fulfill the water demand in this area, delineation of ground water potential zone is of paramount importance. The main objective of this study is to identify ground water potential zone in Dinajpur district. Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) based geospatial techniques are adopted in this study. Nine thematic layers such as elevation, drainage density, slope, geology, rainfall, soil, modified normalized difference water index, topographic wetness index, land use land cover is compiled through overlay analysis in ArcGIS 10.5 software to prepare ground water potential zone map. This map has been classified into five categories namely, poor, low, moderate, high, and excellent. The research demonstrates that highest percentage of land (37.40%) in the study area comprise of “high-excellent” ground water potential zone while the “poor” ground water potential zone comprises only 10.25 percentage followed by low to moderate 52.35 percentage. The area of Ghoraghat, Birampur, and Fulbari contribute “high-excellent” to ground water potential while “poor” ground water potential zone encompasses Birganj, Bochaganj, Kaharole, and Khansama sub-district. Finally, a relationship between these five zones and cropping intensity is determined. The findings of the study will be beneficial for the policy makers to conserve the ground water for sustainable use in water deficit region.