Geospatial modeling and analysis of groundwater stress-prone areas using GIS-based TOPSIS, VIKOR, and EDAS techniques in Murshidabad district, India

Groundwater is the most important environmental crisis and as it is a burning issue today, it must be assessed worldwide. In this study, multiple geo-environmental parameters have been used for delineating groundwater stress zones in the Murshidabad district, India. The present study is a highly populated and economically agricultural-based area. Eighteen indicators were selected and prepared thematic layers for the process of groundwater stress-prone modeling. First, groundwater level data and rainfall data were collected from 135 dug well (1996 to 2018) and 12 gridded rainfall stations (1986 to 2020), respectively, and the data were measured by detecting spatiotemporal trends using classical Mann-Kendall (MK), or modified Mann-Kendall (mMK), and the magnitude of the slope was identified by Sen's slope estimator. Subsequently, Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), Vise Kriterijumska Optimizacijaik Ompromisno Resenje (VIKOR), and Evaluation Based on Distance from Average Solution (EDAS) multi-criteria methods have been incorporated for the modeling of groundwater stress zonation. Here, the groundwater depletion susceptibility map in TOPSIS, VIKOR, and EDAS model has been classified into five classes and the results show that the study area has occupied very high susceptibility zone (2.86%, 10.62%, 2.27%), followed by high susceptibility zone (16.30%, 21.96%, 19.71%), moderately susceptible zone (38.90%, 29.86%, 46.02%), low susceptible zone (30.80%, 21.75%, 26.64%), and very low susceptible zone (11.20%, 15.79%, 5.38%) in three models, respectively. The results of the models have been verified for accuracy assessment by the ROC-AUC technique and Cohen's kappa statistical method. It is seen that the performance of the VIKOR model was highly efficient comparatively to TOPSIS and EDAS. The developed final groundwater susceptibility map will be helpful for the best sustainable groundwater management practices based on the human attitude toward risk in the Murshidabad district. The shallow pumps used for extensive irrigation will be failed to work in the future if suitable water management practices are not adopted.