Application of digital techniques to identify aquifer artificial recharge sites in GIS environment

Because the groundwater is considered as the major source of 99% of all retrievable fresh water, optimization of its usage would be very crucial. Groundwater artificial recharge (GAR) using surface water is the recommended solution because that increases the aquifer storage. Detection of aquifer storage site is the first step in designing GAR projects. The main objective of this research is the identification of suitable GAR sites scattered in the Shahrekord plain, Chaharmahal-va-Bakhtiari province of Iran, using Boolean and Fuzzy logic. Data affecting GAR including ground surface slope, soil infiltration rate, vadoze zone thickness, electrical conductivity of the surface water, land-use, and stream network were collected. After provision of digital maps, they were classified, weighted, and integrated through Boolean and Fuzzy operators. The result revealed almost 4.25% of the whole plain area is appropriate for GAR based on Boolean. Also, 4.79 and 17.94% of the plain area are suitable and rather favorable, respectively, based on Fuzzy. Finally, 34 locations were introduced with priorities A, B, and AB as being potentially suitable for GAR. The relationship between geomorphology and suitable areas for GAR based on Boolean and Fuzzy method indicated that the majority of these areas were located on colluvial fans units.