Assessing Groundwater Potential and Recharge Zones Using Integrated Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques in Bannu Basin, Pakistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5564/mgs.v30i61.4085Keywords:
Surface water, multi-influencing factors, runoff potential, weighted overlay analysis, geospatial environmentAbstract
Surface water has usually served as a reliable source for meeting the water needs of humans. However, rapid urbanization and industrialization have significantly altered water dynamics. This study examined groundwater potential and its recharge sites in the Bannu Basin, Pakistan, using geospatial technologies. The study applied multi-influencing factors and weighted overlay analysis techniques with eight influencing parameters, including land use/land cover, soil, drainage and lineament density, topography, rainfall, geology, and runoff potential. To achieve this, Sentinel-2 (2022) was used to create a land use/land cover layer, and runoff potential was computed using land use/land cover, rainfall, and soil data. The resulting layers were categorized into four classes: excellent, good, moderate, and poor. Overall, the analysis shows that significant groundwater potential justifies 47.92% of the area, which covers the central part, excellent as 4.56% covering a very minor area of 50.14 km2, moderate as 38.96% covering the northeastern and southern parts, while poor accounts for 8.57% of the total study area. As a result, a major part of the area has moderate to good groundwater recharge potential, with a small portion (1.15%) having excellent groundwater potential, whereas poor groundwater recharge potential prevails in 340.33 km2 (7.81%). The study results were confirmed using field data and a groundwater potential map by overlay analysis with the real groundwater table, showing that lower water tables match poor and higher tables with excellent potential zones. This study will help in sustainable groundwater resource management and planning in similar regions.
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