Delineation of Ground Water Recharge Potential Zones in Lahore District, Punjab, Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques

Abstract

Lahore is the provincial capital of Punjab and the second most populous city in Pakistan. Aquifer recharge
rates have been continuously decreasing over a long period of time, which has caused a significant decline in the water
table level. Rapid population growth, urban development, and industrialization have all raised the demand for water
supplies. Due to significant infrastructural development, a considerable portion of the land is now impervious and
rainfall now drains as surface runoff rather than recharging the aquifer level. Average annual rainfall, one of the
primary sources used to replenish the Lahore aquifer, is insufficient to prevent the depletion of the water table, and
River Ravi stays almost dry except in rainy seasons. Geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS)
techniques are used to find suitable areas for replenishment in the Lahore aquifer system in order to enhance
sustainability and prevent decreasing groundwater levels. Distance from the water channel, land use/land cover
(LULC), slope, geology, drainage density, rainfall, lineament density, and soil type are the eight layers that have been
integrated with the GIS overlay analysis. Thematic maps are generated using both conventional and remote sensing
data. These maps are eventually converted to raster data. Very good, good, moderate, poor, and very poor are the five
zones that have been delineated. A good to very good