Mapping Ground Water Potential Recharge Zones of Wadi Al-Batin Alluvial Fan, Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques, Southwestern Iraq

Abstract

Groundwater potential recharge (GWPR) zones are an important process in managing water resources. Six thematic layers were used to produce GWPR mapping for Wadi Al-Batin alluvial fan, Southwestern Iraq with GIS environment and analytical hierarchical process (AHP), including geology, lineaments density, slope gradient, drainage density, soil, and slope aspect. Based on the importance, the thematic layers are ranked, which control the GWPR. Drainage density, lineament density, slope aspect, and slope gradient maps are classified into five classes, whereas, geology and soil are classified into six classes. The classes are weighted based on the magnitude of groundwater recharge potential. The AHP technique divides the entire into three zones based on GWPR values: high, moderate, and low. The final GWPR map demonstrated that the western and northwestern parts of the alluvial fan have greater groundwater recharge potentials with 70% of the total area due to the increase in the infiltration rates as a result of the gravely and sandy soils besides the agricultural land use in the present areas. However, the other part of the fan ranged between moderate and low with 25% and 5% of the total area, indicating suitable zones for groundwater artificial recharge processes.