Delineation of groundwater potential zones, groundwater estimation and recharge potentials from Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh, India

Mahoba district comes under Uttar Pradesh, India, and is a hard rock area overlain by the recent alluvium. Most of the agricultural activities were present in such alluvium. However, they are shallow which were deteriorating with time. The severe scarcity and sudden spreading of groundwater in the region directed us to study the potential groundwater zones. In the current study, groundwater potential zones using multi-criteria evaluation techniques were carried out. Various thematic maps such as landuse/landcover, geomorphology, lithology, soil, slope, lineament, and drainage maps were considered to demarcate potential zones. Approximately 0.7% belongs to 'very good to good' groundwater potential zones, 2.4% for 'moderate to good', carefully followed by 83% for 'low to moderate' groundwater potential zones and roughly around 12%, 0.7%, and 0.9% falls under the 'very low to low', 'nil to very low', and 'no potential zones' zones, respectively. The majority of the district suggests a low to moderate potential groundwater zone. The validation of results was in agreement with the evidence obtained as area under curve (AUC) was calculated to be 85.99%. Groundwater estimation for present and prospects was also carried out and shows that two blocks, namely Panwari and Jaitpur, show a decline in groundwater prospects. The other two blocks, namely Charkhari and Kabrai, also offer a declining trend, but the possibilities are better than the other two. Hence, the results from this study will be beneficial in enhanced groundwork and managing the groundwater resources for present and prospects in the entire district.