Assessment of Groundwater Potential Zone using Multi-criteria Decision-making Technique: A Case Study in the South-western Part of Yadadri Bhuvanagiri District, Telangana, India

Groundwater which occurs beneath the earth's surface is an important natural resource. The study area, part of Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district, Telangana, which is a part of Musi river basin, is a hard rock terrain covering an area of 1107 sq km, part of the eastern Dharwar craton (EDC) of the southern India peninsular shield. Exploration of groundwater in this terrain is difficult because groundwater is confined to weathered and fractured layers. The present study aims to delineate groundwater potential zones using the multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) technique. An integrated application of remote sensing and GIS is very effective in mapping features that provide information about groundwater potential zones using several thematic layers such as geology, soil, geomorphology, slope, lineament density, drainage density, rainfall, and land use/land cover maps. The groundwater potential zones of the study area are classified into five categories, namely very high, high, medium, low, and very low and they occupied an area of 116.8, 381.29, 345.15, 149.70, and 115.42 km2 respectively. The results were validated using discharge data from existing wells in the study area, and the majority of the high-productivity wells are located in very high and high groundwater potential zones. The groundwater potential zone mapping using this model will be a very useful improving the groundwater resources of the study area.