Identification of Groundwater Potential Zone in Bundelkhand and Vindhyan Region Using Geoinformatics Techniques

Groundwater availability in urbanized areas is under high demand due to overconsumption and lack of recharge area. It is important to consider the groundwater scenario of the cities and industrial areas for its safe consumption and management. Groundwater is a vital resource for sustaining agricultural and domestic activities in Chitrakoot District, Uttar Pradesh. Chitrakoot district is located in the Southern part of Uttar Pradesh. It comes under part of hard rock terrain, which is mainly covered by Bundelkhand granite and Vindhyan system (Semri limestone, Rewa Sandstone, Shale and Kaimur Sandstone). This study utilizes various thematic layers, including lithology, land use /land cover, slope, drainage density, rainfall and soil texture, to generate a groundwater potential zone map using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. The study findings indicate that the southern part of the district has poor to nill while the western and central parts of the district have moderate groundwater potential. In contrast, the Northern and Eastern parts of the study area have good to very good potential zones.