Identification of Suitable Sites for Groundwater Recharge Using the Boolean Model: Case Study: Sidi Bouzid Acquifers

Abstract

The scarcity of water can have harmful effects on human life. In addition, one noticeable issue humanity is faced with is managing water resources. This study aims at selecting the most suitable areas for groundwater artificial recharge using multi-criteria analysis. The fundamental element of this multi-criteria analysis is the choice of criteria that are the most sensitive part of the multi-criteria formulation of a decision problem. Such Criteria included: Slope, Soil Permeability, Soil Salinity, Depth of the Water table, Proximity to road networks, Proximity to the forest, proximity to wetlands, proximity to irrigation areas, proximity to urban areas, proximity to hydrographic networks, proximity to piezometer and borehole. Using Boolean Model, and in the GIS environment, the layers were produced and classified. The results suggested that the area’s most suitable are equal to 12.1%. Also, use of the land had an impact on the removal of restrictions of artificial recharge areas. It could be claimed that 5.5% of the studied area were considered suitable for artificial recharge in Boolean logic using land-use filtering.