Open Access

ARTICLE

Identification of Groundwater Potential Sites Using GIS and RS Techniques: Case Study of Timergara, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Fayaz Ullah Shinwari¹, Mumtaz Ali Khan^2,*, Saad Khan^3,4, Rizwan Niaz⁵, Mansour Almazroui^6,7

1 Researches Organization for Development (ROD), Kabul, Afghanistan
2 Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Bahria University Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan
3 National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan
4 GIS and Space Applications in Geosciences (G-SAG), National Center for GIS and Space Applications (NCGSA), Islamabad, Pakistan
5 School of Energy and Environment Science, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, China
6 Center of Excellence for Climate Change Research, Department of Meteorology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
7 Climatic Research Unit, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

* Corresponding Author: Mumtaz Ali Khan. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Resource and Environmental Information Modeling - 2nd Edition)

Revue Internationale de Géomatique 2026, 35, 273-290. https://doi.org/10.32604/rig.2026.080586

Received 12 February 2026; Accepted 17 April 2026; Issue published 21 May 2026

Abstract

Groundwater is an essential resource contributing substantially to the annual total water supply. It enables agricultural irrigation and provides billions of people with their main source of drinking water. But overuse of groundwater has decreased its supply and, in certain places, resulted in soil subsidence. In the complex hydrogeological terrain of Timergara, traditional groundwater exploration is challenging and costly, requiring more efficient mapping approaches. Groundwater recharge potential zones must be assessed in order to guarantee sustainable groundwater management. This study uses Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) methodologies to evaluate groundwater potential sites in Timergara, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This research integrates eight thematic layers; rainfall, geology, slope, soil, land use/land cover (LULC), drainage density, lineament density, and lithology, using the Multi-Influencing Factor (MIF) technique to enhance mapping precision. Data from several sources were integrated to investigate groundwater occurrences through surface and subsurface investigations. Existing water bodies were identified by a GPS survey. For this study, seven important factors were taken into account: rainfall, lineament density, drainage density, geology, soil, land use/land cover, and slope. To create the final Groundwater Potential Sites (GWPS) Index map, these elements were weighted and categorized using the Multi-Influencing Factor (MIF) procedure. This was followed by a weighted overlay analysis in ArcGIS. The results reveal five distinct potential zones: very poor, poor, moderate, good, and very good. The study found that areas that fall under ‘very good’ and ‘good’ potential are primarily located in regions with low slope and high lineament density. A regression analysis between the GWPS index and well depth data was performed for validation, showing a strong positive correlation (R² = 0.7126), confirming the reliability of the GIS-based model. Finding the best locations for water extraction and supporting sustainable groundwater resource management can be facilitated by using the verified groundwater potential map.

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