Groundwater Potential Zone Mapping in the Department of Boundiali (Northern Côte d’Ivoire) Using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and GIS
Abstract
This study aims to improve our understanding of groundwater resources in the Boundiali department to meet the ever-growing needs of the population. The study's primary goal is to identify areas with the potential for high-rate borehole installation. The database includes satellite images, borehole data, and hydro-climatic data. Using the hierarchical analytical process method to combine these different types of information made it possible to generate indicators of groundwater availability, accessibility and exploitability. These indicators were then used as criteria and integrated using the coding aggregation method to produce the groundwater potential map. The results show that over half (60%) of the territory has good or excellent groundwater availability. The exploitability and accessibility of this resource are estimated to be 30% and 53% good and excellent, respectively. Analysis of the groundwater potential map derived from these indicators shows that 61% of the study area is suitable for installing high-rate boreholes. This study is a significant step towards solving the drinking water problem in this department, where no advanced hydrogeological studies are available.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Serge Kouakou Deh, Sekouba Oulare, Emmanuel Konan Kouadio, Serge Loua, Mory Fere Konate, Muller Yao Yao, Jean Kan Kouame, Jean Patrice Roger Jourda
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