Mapping Ground Water Potential Zones in West Guji Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Ensuring sustainable groundwater use is essential for long-term agricultural viability and socio-economic development. Groundwater is essential for both household use and farming in the West Guji Zone. However, irregular monsoons and varying rainfall patterns have increased the demand for groundwater. Our study successfully delineated Groundwater Potential Zones (GWPZs) using an integrated approach that combines remote sensing and GIS-based Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) methodology. The resulting GWPZ map aids in locating water extraction sites, sustainable groundwater utilization, land-use planning, and water resource management in Oromia and Somalia regions of Ethiopia. The results indicated that the very poor, poor, fair, good, and very good potential zones accounted for 14.20%, 22.90%, 32.12%, 20.66%, and 10.12% of the study area, respectively. This approach can be extended to other parts of Ethiopia, promoting better watershed management practices for agriculture and drinking water supply. Notably, the study emphasizes the cost-effectiveness of combining remote sensing with AHP for groundwater prospecting, reducing workforce requirements and time constraints compared to conventional methods.