Potential identification of groundwater resources using fuzzy logic method (Case study: Darab Fars watershed)

The limitation and scarcity of groundwater resources in Darab Fars plain has caused this plain to be in a critical situation and in the forbidden group. With proper management, the capacity of available surface and groundwater resources can be well identified and studied to make a comprehensive plan for their proper use. The use of GIS along with observational data leads to easy and systematic estimation of groundwater recharge areas. The purpose of this study is to identify the potential of groundwater resources using AHP model and fuzzy functions in GIS environment. To assess the potential of groundwater resources, 10 geological criteria, fault density, altitude, slope, land use, soil, geomorphology, precipitation, drainage density and distance from rivers were studied and analyzed. The layers were prepared in a GIS environment and then the potential of groundwater resources was modeled using fuzzy logic functions. The results showed that the use of 0.98 gamma showed more favorable results than other numbers. Areas with high groundwater potential were determined with high accuracy. To validate the model, exploitation wells in the region have been used. About 63.62 percent of this type of wells are located in areas with good and very good potential. Areas with good and very good potential correspond to the terrace reserves, alluviums and sediments of the fourth period and have a low slope (0-5 degrees). About 31 percent of the watershed is in two categories of good and very good potential.