GeoSpatial Identification of Artificial Groundwater Recharge Locations by Rainfall using Analytical Hierarchy Process in Samarkand City
Annotatsiya
The Samarkand city is located on the left bank of the Zarafshan River. However, the city experiences an acute crisis of water due to rapid socio-economic development and population growth, resulting in increasing water demand. A heavy reliance on groundwater was made to meet these water demands, leading to its overexploitation and resulting in a significant decline in groundwater levels, which requires urgent attention to explore potential mediums for replenishing the groundwater. The current study focuses on the potential rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge zones by analyzing the seven variables like geology, soil types, land use and land cover, slope, curvature, drainage density, and distance from lineaments. The potential artificial recharge locations for rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge are identified by employing the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) using a geographic information system (GIS). The highest scores (ranked good), indicate the most suitable locations for rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge, covering an area of about 10 km2 (18.9%). Recharge can be made during rainfall events, where relatively large volumes of water become available relatively quickly and accumulate at surface depressions. The runoff can be stored in groundwater by enhancing its infiltration through gravity injection wells. The weighted overlay method was implemented to identify potential rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge locations using seven parameters: geology, soil type, land use and land cover, slope, curvature, drainage density, and distance from lineaments.