Spatial Distribution Pattern of Groundwater Resources and Evaluation of Exploitation Potential in the Heng Shao Drought Corridor of Hunan Province

The Heng Shao Drought Corridor in Hunan Province is a critical water-scarce region with significant implications for water-intensive industries. This study evaluates the spatial distribution, exploitable volume, and quality of groundwater by integrating multi-scale hydrogeological data, real-time monitoring observations, and advanced spatial interpolation techniques. Four main groundwater types—loose rock pore water, bedrock fissure water, karst water, and red bed pore fissure water— are characterized in terms of resource modulus, recoverable volume, and mining potential coefficients. Data fusion and equilibrium analysis methods are applied to quantify groundwater recharge, discharge, and exploitation potential across river valleys and mountainous areas. The results indicate that the total groundwater resource is 11.85 billion m3, with 4.454 billion m3 exploitable under sustainable thresholds. Groundwater quality is predominantly Class I–III, with manganese and nitrate as the main influencing factors. The study highlights high-potential zones in the northwestern and western mountainous reaches and identifies regions requiring regulated exploitation. By framing groundwater assessment as a multi-node environmental monitoring and spatial data integration system, the methodology provides an engineering-oriented perspective for sustainable water resource management, planning of extraction strategies, and decision support for industrial applications.