Analysis of hydrogeological favorability through the Analytical Hierarchy Process and GIS in the Municipality of San Juan de Limay, Estelí, Nicaragua.

Abstract

Water is one of the most valuable and indispensable natural resources (Rahmati et al., 2015). Groundwater being the main part of the water supply in regions with drought problems. As the demand for water in San Juan de Limay grows, the need to know the potential of groundwater in the area grows. The main objective of this research was to delimit areas with hydrogeological favorability in the municipality of San Juan de Limay, through the Hierarchical Analysis Process (AHP) based on the knowledge and opinion of experts using a geographic information system (GIS) model. The main objective of the AHP methodology is to support decision makers in the selection of the best alternative for the application of future methods or groundwater exploration wells, being used as a simple tool for the evaluation of hydrogeological favorability. This methodology can be applied in regions with scarce data, saving time and costs.The integration of the thematic layers indicated that geology, water quality, topography, soil texture, guidelines and drainage play a crucial role in delimiting areas with hydrogeological favorability, resulting in a map classifiedinto 5 classes: Very high favorability, High Favorability, Moderate Favorability, Low Favorability and Not Favorable. This pioneering study in the municipality of Limay explores baseline data for possible groundwater zones. The results that emanate from this study can be used to know the availability of groundwater resources and findsuitable sites for groundwater exploration.