GIS-Based Groundwater Information System (GWIS) of Al Waseetah area:Case study

 GIS-Based Groundwater Information System (GWIS) of Al Waseetah area:Case study

نظم معلومات المياه الجوفية استنادا على نظم المعلومات الجغرافية - منطقة الوسيطة بالجبل الأخضر حالة دراسية

Salah M Hamad

Faculty of Natural resources and environmental sciences, Omar Al-Mukhtar University, Al Baydah, Libya

Al-Mukhtar Journal of Sciences 34 (1): 7-18, 2019

مجلة المختار للعلوم 43 (1) 7 - 18 - 2019م

Abstract: Since groundwater is the main water resource in Libya, groundwater information system (GWIS) is required as a decision support system (DSS) where it promises great potential for effective management and assessment of groundwater resources, and enhances the sustainability and efficient use of groundwater resources. This paper discusses the requirements and the design approach for the preparation of GWIS using geographic information system (GIS) techniques, where Al Waseetah area in Al Jabal Al Akhdar region was selected as a case study because of the availability of the hydrogeological data. The system structure and characteristics were defined and designed to store and manipulate the groundwater data, where 155 groundwater wells data were used to test and implement the GWIS system, in addition to remote sensing data as well as previous geological and hydrogeological studies. A series of maps and the hydrogeological map were produced and used to evaluate and interpret the groundwater system in Al Waseetah area. Keywords: GIS; Water Resources; Groundwater 

INTRODUCTION Water is an essential commodity to mankind, and the largest available source of fresh water lies underground. As the world’s population increases, the demand for fresh water has necessitate the call and need for the development of underground water supplies. Globalization and the inevitable processes of progress in the form of modernization and urbanization have magnified the problem of the search for freshwater supplies. Efforts, systems, and technologies have increased to solve these problems; methods for investigating the occurrence, patterns, and movement of groundwater have improved, better means for extracting ground water have been developed, principles of conservation have been established, and researches of several types have contributed to a better understanding of the subject (Todd, 1963). Management and decision making in water sector essentially are based on Water Information System (WIS), where it represents the key for water resource assessment and sustainable management. These involve different levels of stakeholders concerned with water data in different purposes of assessment and management. At present, holistic management of groundwater resources suffers from a large number of noted groups involved with respect to their divergent interests on the one hand, and the lack of essential information and the complexity of the geological system on the other. Various hydro- geological, climatic, water-economical, chemical and biological interrelations have to be taken into account. Thus, the traditional approaches in information retrieval and management, for example, single reports in hardcopy

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