GIS-based Multi-Criteria Analysis for Delineation of Groundwater Potential Zones: A Case Study from Jodhpur District, Rajasthan, India

Introduction

Water scarcity is a major issue in all over the countries of world, mostly in developing countries. As per day to day expansion of human population water utilization has significantly expanded as seen throughout the most recent couple of decades. From the survey of food and agriculture organization (FAO 2015), the rate of growth of human population is as much that it cans twice the world’s requirement for water. India is the second largest populated country in the world and the fresh water for many purposes is increasing day by day and also having facing water crisis in some part of India due to developing country. The people present in the field of water assets the board are confronting about various problems and issues including water quality, environmental changes, and water supply demand increments. Dry and semiarid districts are mainly facing the water scarcity and soil moisture declination, which hamper the agricultural fields and fail to fulfill the required amount of water supply to the demand raised. The spatial– temporal precipitation data convict the real difficulties and erratic precipitation designs prompts aridity and climate disaster conditions. These issues influence the yield generation and expanding sustainable hazards. One most possible way for relieving this water crisis can be done by the water harvesting structure. All the water boards must make a feasible by the agribusiness part which is crucial for sustenance emergency and also for financial improvement of the nation. For the battle with water scarcity in the dry and semidry districts issues for a huge number of years is a promising elective wellspring or water harvesting structure for enhancing water. Recharge water harvesting (RWH) can be frame for the proper rationing water overflow for horticulture, and incredibly significant particularly in dry region where it all fulfill the water shortage issues and make a good to very good groundwater extraction, trimming danger and increment in crop yield. RWH enhance groundwater for saves and builds water accessibility and improve socio-economic problems facing by the districts (Ammar et.al. 2016). Many techniques and devices are utilized in past for the research of groundwater potential in a area but at present Geographic information system and remote sensing program are advance version for the delineation of groundwater potential zone. Adaption of remote sensing with GIS technology has made easier to identify the hydrological potential in a region. GIS based water models are very suggesting techniques and additionally devices. MCA (AHP) model offers high potential to the GIS technique for RWH sites zoning for the information of poor groundwater zone and good quality of groundwater zone (Ziadat et.al, 2012; Bulcock and Jewitt 2013).

The physical and financial qualities were considered best due to GIS process. GIS and remote sensing access the remote area where on field is difficult to reach but at present due to modern technique it is easy to develop the remotely area, and the water scarcity and fulfilling of water demand properly made easy with GIS based modeling and tools. (Sayl et. al. 2017) has utilized GIS-RS with multi criteria choice methods, for example: Geographically, hydrology, and precipitation, socio-economically, and the various conditions to analysis and calculate the reasonable water harvesting structure for the proper groundwater recharge and groundwater arability. Researchers applying remote sensing and GIS for the hydrological potential sites for water harvesting structure to maintain the ground water potentiality such check dams, storage tank, farm pond, Talab, gully plug, trench etc. RS-GIS hence used by the researchers with many parameters such as the rainfall, soil texture, geology, geomorphology, drainage, land use& land cover, slope for the more accurate result to identify the site for water harvesting structure and remove the problems of groundwater scarcity.

Enormous numbers of people are migrating from the rural area to urban in search of water, due to crop failure and water quality. Governments are facing various challenges in the field of hydrological sector. Water consumption is increased as the urban sprawl rate is increased and one of the key issue of water management. However water management is unsustainable. Furthermore for proper sites of water harvesting structure based on GIS is necessary in India, mainly in arid and semiarid region. The Jodhpur district is selected is selected for this study because it is one of the governorates that have been exposed to the most disaster water shortages. This kind of research has not been carried out in this area yet. The study aims for delineation of groundwater fresh water zone which is good for all the purpose to be fulfill as required in the Jodhpur district.