AHP-Based Mapping of Optimal Groundwater Recharge Sites in Tirupathur District, Tamil Nadu, India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58825/jog.2026.20.1.305Keywords:
Artificial groundwater recharge, Remote sensing, GIS, Analytical Hierarchy processAbstract
A study was conducted in the Tirupathur district of Tamil Nadu, India to identify suitable sites for groundwater recharge and to suggest appropriate site specific recharge mechanisms. The potential of groundwater depends on topography, lithology, geological structure, depth of weathering, slope, drainage pattern, landuse land cover, soil, rainfall, lineament density, drainage density, magnetic breaks and topographic wetness index. All thematic layers were prepared and assigned comparative weights using Saaty's 9-point scale and then normalized using the Analytical Hierarchy Process. According to the investigation, groundwater recharge zones are categorised into five classes; very low, low, moderate, high, and very high. The study found the region of Vaniyambadi and Natrampalli had very high and high potential zones, respectively, covering 6.22% (128.75km2) and 15.2% (312.79km2) area. Conversely, the region of south Natrampalli, Tirupathur, and eastern Ambur had moderate, low, and very low potentials, covering 29.31% (607.06km2), 24.35% (518.30km2), and 25.02% (504.41km2) area. The study mainly focused on moderate to very low potential zones for artificial recharge. High and very high zones were not considered as priority due to their high infiltration rates. This approach helped to identify 46 potential sites for artificial recharge based on the best execution of AHP to boost groundwater conditions and meet the shortage of water resources in agriculture and domestic use. This study reveals that Remote Sensing and GIS with AHP provide an efficient and effective platform for convergent analysis of various data for groundwater management and planning.
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