GIS and Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE): Recent System Approaches in Groundwater Potential Zoning- a case study in southern India

The increasing demand for fresh water in Hunsur Taluk, Mysore District, India has necessitated the exploration for new sources of groundwater ,particularly in hard rock terrain, where groundwater is a vital source of fresh water .The current study aims at merging the recent techniques in GIS and Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) to identify potential groundwater zones (PGWZ). MCE approaches are specifically designed to incorporate and integrate the impacts of various factors, involving several levels of, dependent and independent, qualitative and quantitative information. MCE tools can be naturally linked with adaptive management paradigms. A linear combination of the weight, based on pair wise comparisons was used. This method allowed for combining a set of parameters to express the accessibility, exploitability and availability of groundwater resources. This led to the mapping in support of the implementation of future water points. The final map is categorized into five zones, from groundwater potential point of view; Excellent, Good, Good-Moderate, Poor and Poor-Nil (Run-off zone).

Keywords:

GIS , MCE , GWPZ