Delineation of groundwater potential zones using analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and GIS in Weserbi sub-catchment, Oromia, Ethiopia

ABSTRACT Water scarcity is a major challenge in arid and semi-arid regions. This study evaluates groundwater potential in the 748 km2 Weserbi River catchment, Northern Shoa, Ethiopia – an area with significant but underexplored groundwater resource. Geographic information systems (GIS) and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) were used to integrate and analyze multiple thematic layers including lithology, soil types (S), rainfall (RF), lineament density (LD), drainage density (DD), slope (Sl), land use/land cover (LULC), and topographic wetness index (TWI). The normalized principal eigenvector values derived from the AHP analysis assigned the highest weight to lithology (38%), followed by LULC (16%), TWI (14%), LD (10%), Sl (9%), DD (7%), S (3%), and RF (3%). The results indicate that lithology and LULC are the primary factors influencing groundwater potential, while other parameters have a relatively lower input. The study classified 70% of the area as having high groundwater potential, 24% as moderate, and 6% as low. The resulting groundwater potential map was validated using yield data, confirming its reliability. The findings provide critical insights for groundwater resource management, sustainable water development and addressing water scarcity challenges in the region.