Evaluating urbanization impact on stressed aquifer of Quetta Valley, Pakistan

This research is focused on the land use/ land cover (LU/LC) changes impacts on the groundwater table and urbanization trend of Quetta valley for a period of 10 y. The land cover changes are occurring locally, regionally, and worldwide, which results in the expansion of urbanization trend and groundwater table depletion. Population growth leads to fast change in land use patterns, which increases the demand for basic needs. Urbanization and climatic impacts on depleting groundwater resources in Quetta need to assess and find a scientific solution using applications of the latest software. This study investigated the land cover changes in three categories, which were barren land, vegetation, built-up area by using maximum likelihood classification (MLC). Water table depletion was defined in five ranges from very low to very high by using the Kriging Method. It is inferred that the built-up area was increased the most in the last 10 y, that is, 2008-2018 as compared to other classes. The City area groundwater has been observed most of the depletion from 2008 to 2018. The selected Union Councils/Towns of Quetta District coming in the study area were City, Cantonment, Baleli, Kuchlak, Kachi Baig, Hanna, Shadenzai, and Saraghurgai were separated in polygons according to their boundaries to get the population density of each area. The Quetta city was found to be the most populated. It is imperative to inspect the land use change, water levels of current functional pumping wells, and population growth rate annually for its present management and future planning.

Automated summary

This research focuses on the impacts of land use/land cover changes on the groundwater table and urbanization trend in Quetta valley over a 10-year period. The study found that urban expansion has led to groundwater depletion, with the built-up area increasing significantly compared to other land cover categories. It is crucial to continuously monitor land use changes, water levels, and population growth for effective management and planning.