Identification of Groundwater Potential Zones using Geo-information: A Case of Bharatpur Metropolitan, Nepal
Sanjeev Kumar Raut(a*), Arjun Dulal(a), Subash Bhandari(b)

a) Land Management Training Center
Dhulikhel, Kavre, Nepal
*sanjeevraut.4[at]gmail.com
b) Kathmandu University
Dhulikhel, Kavre, Nepal

Abstract

needs. The purpose of this research was to identify the groundwater potential zones via the use of remote sensing (RS) and Geographic information system (GIS), which is essential in evaluating, preserving, and monitoring various groundwater-related development programs. Man-made pressures include overexploitations of groundwater and climate changes have led to strain on groundwater resources. As the use for consumable water increases for human consumption, agriculture, and industrial grow, needs to evaluate the groundwater potential and aquifer productivity also increase. Groundwater inspections have been historically done by field survey method, which is inefficient or not practical in terms of time and resources. Arc GIS software is utilized to manipulate datasets. The LULC map of the study area is developed using Landsat 8 satellite data. A soil map is created using the Geo network portal for FAO, rainfall map from the Climate Research Unit, and DEM is acquired using ASTER from earth data. Six thematic maps are applied, each with an appropriate weight and rank assigned based on its characteristics and connection with groundwater. All the thematic layers are combined into a GIS domain, and weight values are put to the attribute table for each polygon. The groundwater potential zone map has been classified into four zones, i.e., very poor, poor, moderate, and good. These results will help hydrogeologists, decision-makers, planners, and local authorities formulate better groundwater resource planning in the Bharatpur Metropolitan.

Keywords: Groundwater, GIS, Remote sensing, Zones, Weighted overlay analysis

Topic: Topic A: General Remote Sensing