Use of GIS, Remote Sensing and Analytical Hierarchy Process for Groundwater Potential Assessment in an Arid Region – A Case Study

This research aims to evaluate the groundwater potentiality in the arid region “Telmzoun” located in the south of Morocco using the AHP model of multi-criteria analysis in conjunction with GIS and Remote Sensing techniques. The used methodology to generate the groundwater potential map starts with the preparation of thematic layers of different factors influencing the existence of groundwater, such as precipitation, lithology, geomorphology, lineament density, drainage density, slope, in addition to the proximity of the hydrographic network. Groundwater potential map was prepared using relative weights derived from the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). The results were mapped on ArcGIS 10.2 and validated using the existing borehole data and the ROC curve. The accuracy of the generated map reached over 70%. It represents five classes of groundwater potential that are as follows: very high potential areas consisting of 10.5% (2.14 km2), high potential representing a rate of 27.2 % (5.53 km2), moderate potential areas consisting of 30 % (6.06 km2), low potential 20.5 % (4.17 km2) and very low potential areas showing a rate of 11.8% (2.40km2) of the total study area. The results obtained are satisfactory and consist of a guide map to be used effectively in direct future groundwater exploration campaigns and to minimize various field costs.