ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Delineation of Groundwater Potential Zones
Using Multicriteria Decision Analysis for Guercif
(Morocco)
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1
Laboratoire Géo-patrimoine, Géo-environnement et Prospection Minière et Hydrique 2GPMH,
Université Mohammed Premier Oujda, Oujda, Morocco
2
Centre of Excellence in Water Resources Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology,
Lahore 54890, Pakistan
3
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Bosan Road, Multan 60800, Pakistan
Submission date: 2023-03-13
Final revision date: 2023-09-26
Acceptance date: 2023-11-04
Online publication date: 2024-01-24
Publication date: 2024-02-28
Corresponding author
Muhammad Sultan
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Bahauddin Zakariya University, 60800, Multan, Pakistan
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2024;33(3):2049-2064
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ABSTRACT
Groundwater resources are depleting worldwide owing to climate change and exponential rise in
population. In order to manage groundwater resources, consideration must be given to availability of the
groundwater and the functioning of the aquifer system. In this regard, the present study aims to explore
groundwater potential zones for Guercif, Morocco for highlighting the importance of groundwater
resources management. The groundwater potential zones are investigated using multicriteria decision
analysis technique in GIS software from perspectives of slope, drainage density, land use landcover,
geology, soil type and groundwater levels. As per results, poor groundwater potential zones in the study
area were minimum (about 1 km2) followed by excellent (257 km2), fair (632 km2), moderate (2710 km2)
and good (6064 km2) groundwater potential zones, respectively. Watershed of the study area has good
groundwater potential zones of about 62.75% whereas only 0.01% falls in poor groundwater potential
zones. The current research concluded that estimating the groundwater potential zones using GIS and
RS remote sensing techniques could saves time and money as compared to the conventional methods.
The study is recommended for decisions making and managing the groundwater resources for betterment
of the region in future. Therefore, the study provides critical insights for public and government sectors
to understand the potential zones for sustainable groundwater utilization and management.