Geospatial Mapping of Groundwater Potentiality in Sooriyawewa Divisional Secretariat Division by Utilizing GIS

Abstract

The dry zone of Sri Lanka is affected by drought conditions owing to a lack of rainfall. Hence, mapping the distribution of groundwater potential zones is vital for water management. The Hambantota district, which is in the dry zone is a severely afflicted area due to lack of rainfall, and Sooriyawewa divisional secretariat area faces water scarcity. Therefore, this study aims to map groundwater potentiality in the Sooriyawewa divisional secretariat division using a geographical information system. For this study, spatial interpolation techniques, weighted overlay analysis, georeferencing, and digitizing methods were used. In this study, the annual average rainfall, geology, geomorphology, drainage density, lineament density, land use land cover, slope, and soil maps were prepared, and integrating those maps, the final groundwater potential zones map was prepared by using ArcMap 10.5 software. The study found that there were no high-potential groundwater zones in the Sooriyawewa divisional secretariat division and it already consists of low and moderate ranges. Therefore, the final groundwater potential zone map was categorized as very low, low, and moderate. The Percentages of area Coverage according to classes as, very low 2%, low 91%, and moderate 7%. This study can be highly helpful in identifying the groundwater potential zones in the Sooriyawewa divisional secretariat division and in preventing water scarcity because identified groundwater potential zones can be used for effective water management and provide essential information to responsible authorities for decision-making. Furthermore, the identified potential zones can be used for rainwater harvesting and can be used properly for future consumption. KEYWORDS: Georeferencing, Geographical Information System, Spatial Interpolation, W