Groundwater potential zone mapping of Llandrindod Wells, Wales, UK using GIS, remote sensing, and analytic hierarchy process

ABSTRACT Groundwater is crucial for urban and rural water systems, especially as demand increases from climate change and population growth. This study addresses a gap in previous research on Groundwater Potential Zones (GWPZ). Drainage density, rainfall, slope, land use/land cover (LULC), soil, and geology, along with elevation were analyzed using ArcGIS and Remote Sensing with a weighted overlay method. GWPZs for Liandrindod Wells Watershed, Wales, UK is mapped using Multi-Criteria Analysis and Analytical Hierarchical Processing. Rainfall amounts range from very low (70–92 mm to very high (127–141 mm). The slope ranges from 0 to 195 degrees, with low slopes indicating high groundwater potential and high slopes indicating low potential. The LULC forming the region were water land, built-up area, cropland, rangeland, and treeland. The sub-basin soil falls into four distinct types: loam, sandy loam, sandy clay loam, and clay loam. The majority of the sub-basin is covered by rocks from the Silurian and Devonian periods. The following five zones make up the GWPZ map: Very High (147.7 km2) (2.9%), High (1943.4 km2) (38.3%), Moderate (2318.7 km2) (45.7%), Low (662.2 km2) (13%), and Very Low (4 km2) (0.08%). Groundwater-rich regions comprise about 87% of the study area.