Delineation of Spring Potential Zones using Geospatial Techniques: Arunachal Pradesh, India

Abstract

In the current climate change scenario, natural spring in the region is drying or vanishing, increasing water scarcity. So, to protect this vital resource, spring rejuvenation and protection activities are needed. Thus, the region spring potential zones (SPZ) must be identified to execute the project successfully. The current study used remote sensing (RS) and geographical information system (GIS) techniques to determine an SPZ based on multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) and an analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The SPZ map was created using eight spring-influencing parameters and showed that the medium potential zone had the highest area (55.6%), followed by high (24.3%), poor (18.804%), and very high (1.3%). The AUC validation score was 0.714, indicating good prediction accuracy. The study recommended implementing artificial rainwater harvesting structures and protection measures to rejuvenate springs for long-term sustainable water supply in very high to medium potential zones, representing 63.73% and 29.67% of the identified spring locations, respectively.