Hydrogeological Insights: Assessing Groundwater in Trans-Yamuna Using Decision Making Method, Prayagraj, India

This study presents the assessment of groundwater potential and its recharge areas in marginal alluvial and hard rock areas of the Trans-Yamuna region of Prayagraj district, Uttar Pradesh, India. Nine pivotal thematic layers under the geomorphological and hydrogeological categories have been considered for study. The weight of each layer was determined using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). The process involved assigning weights to various factors in ArcGIS, such as soil type, land use/land cover, and slope, which were deemed to influence groundwater potential and recharge characteristics. The outcome demonstrate that the ‘very high’ potential area covers around 18.38% (550 km²), ‘high’ potential area covers 35.20% (1053 km²), ‘medium’ potential area covers 31.09% (930 km²), ‘low’ potential area covers 11.93% (357 km²). However, 3.37% (101 km²) falls under ‘very low’ potential area. Similarly, recharge areas categorized as “very high” (302.63 km²), “high” (875.96 km²), “moderate” (950.22 km²), “low” (651.37 km²), and “very low” (210.83 km²). The northern region is less suitable for recharging due to geological settings. Findings were validated with the actual yield data collected and accuracy was approximately 71%. These valuable insights can be utilized for better decision-making processes related to the utilization and conservation of groundwater in the specified region.