Groundwater Potential Recharge Zone Mapping for the Wolf River Watershed, Tennessee

Khairul Hasan^{1, 2}, Sondipon Paul^2, , Khayrun Nahar Mitu¹ and Fuad Bin Nasir³

¹Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh

²Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Memphis, TN, USA

³Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

Cite this paper:
Khairul Hasan, Sondipon Paul, Khayrun Nahar Mitu and Fuad Bin Nasir. Groundwater Potential Recharge Zone Mapping for the Wolf River Watershed, Tennessee. American Journal of Water Resources. 2022; 10(1):17-23. doi: 10.12691/ajwr-10-1-3

Abstract

The article presents groundwater potential recharge zone analysis in the Wolf River watershed applying the Geographic Information System (GIS) technique. Six thematic layers: elevation, slope, drainage density, rainfall, land cover, and soil type are prepared and integrated for the spatial analysis. The analysis applies the multi-criteria-based Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to obtain each layer's weight. The thematic layers with the assigned weightage are overlain in a weighted overlay analysis to develop the study area's potential groundwater recharge zone map. Potential recharge zones are classified into four categories: very low, low, medium, and high. The result shows that the medium zone occupies a large portion of the watershed's central and southern regions. The study also reveals that the high and low zones cover a minimal watershed area. The findings can help policymakers make informed decisions for sustainable management of groundwater resources of the study area.

Keywords:
Geographical Information System (GIS) Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) Potential Groundwater Recharge Zone Mapping Watershed Delineation Weighted Overlay.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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