Groundwater potential mapping by combining fuzzy-analytic hierarchy process and GIS in Beysehir Lake Basin, Turkey

Delineation of the groundwater potential zones is one of the most essential process for the sustainable management of the groundwater sources. However, groundwater studies are quite hard and complex for many regions besides consuming time and cost. This study focused on the groundwater potential mapping in Beysehir Lake Basin. Mainly, fuzzy-analytic hierarchy process (fuzzy-AHP) integrated with GIS was used to determine potential zones for groundwater. Seven parameters, namely lithology, lineament, drainage density, land use, slope, soil type, and rainfall were evaluated and Groundwater Potential Index (GWPI) was calculated using weight and rating coefficients of each parameter. According to obtained results, GWPI varies from 0.07665 to 0.28243 in the basin. The low, moderate, and high groundwater potential classes were determined with quantile classification method. The groundwater potential map demonstrates that the high groundwater potential area is located around the lake shore, in the alluvium and limestone fields because high permeability rates depend on soil type, low slope, karstic structure, and agricultural activities in these regions. In addition, the distribution of the springs confirms with groundwater potential area determined with this study.