Site Selection of Suitable Areas for Artificial Groundwater Recharge Using Analytical Hierarchical Processing (AHP) in GIS: A Case Study: Dehgolan Plain

Currently, water demand has exceeded exploitable water resources; so that, the groundwater level has dropped in most plains of Iran such as Dehgolan plain in Kurdistan province, due to additional utilization of these resources. Hence, in the present study it has been attempted to identify the most suitable zones for performance of artificial recharge plan in Dehgolan plain, by integrating Geographic Information System (GIS) and Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM). In this regard, the data of eight effective parameters including slope, geology, surface permeability, thickness of unsaturated alluvium, transmission, electrical conductivity of the aquifer, distance from the waterway and land use of the study area were prepared in GIS environment. Then, the weight of each criterion and weight of the classes of each layer were calculated using AHP method and expert choice software. Finally, the final map was produced in five grades from suitable to quite unsuitable, by integrating the zoned maps based on the weight acquired by AHP. Accordingly, quite suitable and suitable areas for artificial recharge of aquifers with respectively .37% and 2. 8% of total area, are located in a thick layer of Quaternary deposits and close to major waterways. An integrated study helps to plan suitable groundwater management program for artificial recharge.