Environ Geol (2009) 58:185–195
DOI 10.1007/s00254-008-1504-9
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
GIS for the assessment of the groundwater recharge
potential zone
Hsin-Fu Yeh Æ Cheng-Haw Lee Æ
Kuo-Chin Hsu Æ Po-Hsun Chang
Received: 3 May 2008 / Accepted: 27 July 2008 / Published online: 12 August 2008
Ó Springer-Verlag 2008
Abstract Water resources in Taiwan are unevenly dis-
tributed in spatial and temporal domains. Effectively
utilizing the water resources is an imperative task due to
climate change. At present, groundwater contributes 34%
of the total annual water supply and is an important fresh
water resource. However, over-exploitation has decreased
groundwater availability and has led to land subsidence.
Assessing the potential zone of groundwater recharge is
extremely important for the protection of water quality and
the management of groundwater systems. The Chih-Pen
Creek basin in eastern Taiwan is examined in this study to
assess its groundwater resources potential. Remote sensing
and the geographical information system (GIS) are used to
integrate five contributing factors: lithology, land cover/
land use, lineaments, drainage, and slope. The weights
of factors contributing to the groundwater recharge are
derived using aerial photos, geology maps, a land use
database, and field verification. The resultant map of the
groundwater potential zone demonstrates that the highest
recharge potential area is located towards the downstream
regions in the basin because of the high infiltration rates
caused by gravelly sand and agricultural land use in these
regions. In contrast, the least effective recharge potential
area is in upstream regions due to the low infiltration of
limestone.
H.-F. Yeh
C.-H. Lee
K.-C. Hsu
P.-H. Chang
Department of Resources Engineering,
National Cheng Kung University,
Tainan, Taiwan
C.-H. Lee (&)
K.-C. Hsu
Sustainable Environment Research Center,
National Cheng Kung University,
Tainan, Taiwan
e-mail: leech@mail.ncku.edu.tw
Keywords Geographical information system

Groundwater recharge
Chih-Pen Creek basin
Introduction
Groundwater recharge refers to the entry of water from the
unsaturated zone into the saturated zone below the water
table surface, together with the associated flow away from
the water table within the saturated zone (Freeze and
Cherry 1979). Recharge occurs when water flows past the
groundwater level and infiltrates into the saturated zone. It
is an extremely important water component of the circu-
lation cycle in nature. Many factors affect the occurrence
and movement of groundwater in a region including
topography, lithology, geological structures, depth of
weathering, extent of fractures, primary porosity, second-
ary porosity, slope, drainage patterns, landform, land use/
land cover, and climate (Mukherjee 1996; Jaiswal et al.
2003). On-site hydrogeology experiments and geophysics
surveys help to explain the process of groundwater
recharge and evaluate the spatial–temporal difference in
the study region. However, these surveys often focus on a
single affecting factor or an indirect site-specific experi-
ment for groundwater recharge, reducing the reliability
of the explanation. Recently, remote sensing has been
increasingly employed to replace on-site exploration or
experiments. Remote sensing not only provides a wide-
range scale of the space–time distribution of observations,
but also saves time and money (Murthy 2000; Leblanc
et al. 2003; Tweed et al. 2007). Sener et al. (2005) pointed
out that remote sensing can effectively identify the char-
acteristics of the surface of the earth (such as lineaments
and geology) and can also be used to examine groundwa-
ter recharge. Bierwirth and Welsh (2000) applied remote
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sensing to determine the preferential path of groundwater
recharge in an area.
The National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA 1987) in
India was the first to integrate information from remote
sensing and the technology of the geographical information
system (GIS) for delineating the groundwater recharge
potential zone. GIS is used to manage, utilize, and classify
the results of remote sensing, to explore sites, to combine
the factors of groundwater recharge potential, and to pro-
vide appropriate weight relationships (Krishnamurthy et al.
1996; Saraf and Choudhury 1998; Sener et al. 2005).
Salama et al. (1994) used aerial photos and information
from a satellite to derive the lithology, topography, and
geological characteristics of the Salt River in Western
Australia. These properties can be used to determine the
mechanism of groundwater flow and the groundwater
recharge zone. Their analytical results demonstrate that the
sandy plain is the major recharge zone. Edet et al. (1998)
classified groundwater recharge potential zones in south-
east Nigeria as high, medium, or low. They found
that linear features, drainage, lithology, temperature of
groundwater, vertical hydraulic conductivity, yield, and
transmissivity closely control the recharge potential zones.
Singh and Prakash (2002) plotted a groundwater recharge
potential map of a sub-watershed from the geology, line-
ament maps, drainage, slope, and the thickness of the soil
covered. Their results show that the well-yield data in India
is closely related to the groundwater recharge potential
zone. Jaiswal et al. (2003) concluded that there is a need to
adjust the information of satellites and GIS to agree with
the on-site geology, particularly in typical hard rock ter-
rain, where groundwater occurrence is complex and
restricted. Shaban et al. (2006) explored the recharge
potential map of the Occidental Lebanon, and found that
the regions of hard, fractured, and karstified limestone were
excellent potential areas for groundwater recharge, while
the least effective recharge potential was in high-populated
areas and in relatively flat areas covered by soft materials.
The diffusion of pollutants in groundwater is fastest in the
most efficient recharge zones. Tweed et al. (2007) verified
that the integration of remote sensing and GIS reduces the
uncertainty of hydro-geological data in terms of both
macroscopic (climate, change of land utilization) and
microscopic (preferential flow) factors. Their data can be
used to analyze groundwater numerical models or water
balance.
Groundwater is an important source of water for
industrial, agricultural, and domestic uses in Taiwan. Tai-
wan is narrow, with a small area and a high-population
density. The elevation of the terrain of basins is great and
steep, meaning that most precipitation becomes runoff and
drains directly to the ocean very quickly. Water resources
and water demand are unevenly distributed spatially and
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Environ Geol (2009) 58:185–195
temporally. Water shortage has recently become an
important issue due to climate change. The government
needs to regulate the usage of water resources in order to
solve the problem of water shortages. The continuous
development of the economy has led to an increase in water
consumption, and has consequently resulted in shortages of
surface water. Therefore, the reliance on groundwater
resources has increased, leading to the over-consumption
of groundwater, and causing ecological problems such as
decreased groundwater levels, water exhaustion, water
pollution, deterioration of water quality, and seawater
intrusion. These cause serious problems and threaten both
people’s livelihoods and overall national development.
Therefore, it is important to thoroughly understand the
groundwater resources of Taiwan in order to enhance the
efficiency and performance of their planning, utilization,
administration, and management. The government of Tai-
wan has invested significant labor and financial resources
to survey five main groundwater areas (Cho-Shui River
alluvial fan, Pingtung Plain, Chia-Nan Plain, Lan-Yang
Plain, and Hsin-Chu and Miaoli Region) to construct a
database of hydrogeology and groundwater. Additionally,
groundwater monitoring stations have been established, but
only on the western plain of Taiwan. Very limited infor-
mation, such as precipitation, river flux, hydro-geological
properties, groundwater consumption, and groundwater
recharge, is available for the eastern mountain area of
Taiwan. The assessment and planning of groundwater
resources is particularly difficult for the mountain area of
Taiwan.
Groundwater resources in the eastern mountainous
region of Taiwan are becoming increasingly insufficient
due to economic development. The declining groundwater
level in the mountain area is an indication of the decrease
in groundwater resources (Yeh et al. 2007). Therefore, this
study uses the Chih-Pen Creek basin in eastern Taiwan as
the study domain. The Chih-Pen Creek basin was selected
because it is compact but important for eastern Taiwan.
The groundwater recharge potential zones are assessed for
the Chih-Pen Creek basin.
Methodology
Study approach
Remote sensing technology, such as aerial photos, was
used in the present study to identify the geological features,
topography, and distribution of the rivers in the region.
Additionally, the Land Utilization Survey Database, geo-
logic maps, and on-site investigation were adopted to
quantitatively and qualitatively describe the hydro-geo-
logical conditions of the area. The different polygons in the
Environ Geol (2009) 58:185–195
thematic maps were labeled separately. The influence of
the factors of groundwater recharge and the interaction
between the factors were examined. Weighting values were
assigned according to the on-site situation. The distribution
of the groundwater recharge potential zone was determined
by coordinating it with the space integrating function of the
geographical information system (GIS). Figure 1 illustrates
the flowchart of this investigation.
The Infrastructure of the Groundwater Recharge
Potential Model
The groundwater recharge potential zone has been assessed
in many countries (Krishnamurthy et al. 1996; Saraf and
Choudhury 1998; Shahid et al. 2000; Jaiswal et al. 2003;
Sener et al. 2005; Shaban et al. 2006). However, the
groundwater recharge potential zone has not yet been
assessed in Taiwan, especially in mountain watersheds. In
this study, the weights of different factors for groundwater
recharge potential and the score under various character-
istics were assessed based on the characteristics of the
Chih-Pen Creek basin. The factors influencing groundwater
recharge, and their relative importance, are compiled from
previous literature. Duplicate factors were combined and
only representative factors were extracted. This study uses
Fig. 1 Methodology flowchart for the groundwater potential zone
187
Table 1 Factors influencing groundwater recharge classified criteria
Factor Basis of categorization
Lithology Rock type, weathering character, joints, fractures
Land cover/land Type, areal extent, associated vegetation
use
Lineaments Lineament-density value
Drainage Drainage-density value
Slope Slope gradient
lithology, land use/cover, lineaments, drainage, and slope
as the five significant factors affecting groundwater
recharge potential. The factors influencing groundwater
recharge potential, which are listed in Table 1. GIS tech-
nology was used to digitize the hydrologic and geographic
information, and a fundamental database was constructed.
Appropriate scores were set for different factors. Finally,
the spatial analysis function was used to demonstrate the
groundwater recharge potential zone of the research area.
Establishment of groundwater recharge
potential-related factors
Lithology
Shaban et al. (2006) pointed out that the type of rock
exposed to the surface significantly affects groundwater
recharge. Lithology affects the groundwater recharge by
controlling the percolation of water flow (El-Baz and
Himida 1995). Although some investigations have ignored
this factor by regarding the lineaments and drainage char-
acters as a function of primary and secondary porosity, this
study includes lithology to reduce uncertainty in deter-
mining lineaments and drainage.
Land use/cover
Land use/cover is an important factor in groundwater
recharge. It includes the type of soil deposits, the distri-
bution of residential areas, and vegetation cover. Shaban
et al. (2006) concluded that vegetation cover benefits
groundwater recharge in the following ways. (1) Biological
decomposition of the roots helps loosen the rock and soil,
so that water can percolate to the surface of the earth easily.
(2) Vegetation prevents direct evaporation of water from
soil. (3) The roots of a plant can absorb water, thus pre-
venting water loss. Leduc et al. (2001) estimated the
difference in the amount of groundwater recharge due to
changes of land utilization and vegetation from changes in
the groundwater level. Land use/cover was included in this
study as an important factor affecting the groundwater
recharge process.
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Lineaments of groundwater recharge. Many studies have integrated

The analysis of lineaments has been applied extensively to
explain geological status since geological images were
first utilized in the 1930s. Lineaments are generally
referred to in the analysis of remote sensing of fractures or
structures. Lineament photos from satellites and aerial
photos have similar characteristics but the results of the
explanation in on-site may be different. Lineaments are
currently not fully defined. O’Leary et al. (1976) has
defined lineaments as the simple and complex linear
properties of geological structures such as faults, cleav-
ages, fractures, and various surfaces of discontinuity, that
are arranged in a straight line or a slight curve, as detected
by remote sensing. Many non-geological structures, such
as roads and channels, cause errors in the analysis of
lineaments. Therefore, geologic maps and on-site investi-
gations must be used to eliminate possible errors.
Lineaments may be used to infer groundwater movement
and storage. Lattman and Parizek (1964) were the first to
adopt a lineaments map to exploit groundwater. Thereaf-
ter, many scholars have applied this approach in
complicated geological regions (Solomon and Quiel
2006). The present study used lineament-length density
(Ld, L-1) (Greenbaum 1985), which represents the total
length of lineaments in a unit area, as:
iP
¼n
Li
Ld ¼ i¼1
A
iP
¼n
where Li denotes the total length of lineaments (L) and
i¼1
A denotes the unit area (L2). A high lineament-length
density infers high secondary porosity, thus indicating a
zone with high groundwater potential.
lineaments and drainage maps to infer the groundwater
recharge potential zone (Edet et al. 1998; Shaban et al.
2006).
Slope
Rainfall is the main source of groundwater recharge in
tropic and subtropic regions. The slope gradient directly
influences the infiltration of rainfall. Larger slopes produce
a smaller recharge because water runs rapidly off the sur-
face of a steep slope during rainfall, not having sufficient
time to infiltrate the surface and recharge the saturated
zone.
Interrelationships between the factors
of the groundwater recharge potential
There might be interactions between the factors of
groundwater recharge. This study used five factors of
groundwater recharge potential, namely lithology, land
use/cover, lineaments, drainage, and slope. A plot of the
interrelationship between these factors is shown in Fig. 2.
Figure 2 illustrates the primary and secondary interrela-
tionships among the factors. Each relationship is weighted
according to its strength. The representative weight of a
factor of the recharge potential is the sum of all weights
from each factor. A factor with a higher weight value
shows a larger impact on groundwater recharge. Spatial
integration and analysis was performed using GIS tech-
nology to demonstrate the groundwater recharge potential
zone as depicted in Fig. 3.

Drainage

The structural analysis of a drainage network helps assess

the characteristics of the groundwater recharge zone. The
quality of a drainage network depends on lithology, which
provides an important index of the percolation rate. The
drainage-length density (Dd, L-1), as defined by Green-
baum (1985), indicates the total drainage-length in a unit
area, and is determined by:
iP
¼n
Si
i¼1
Dd ¼
A
iP
¼n
where Si denotes the total length of drainage (L) and A
i¼1
denotes the unit area (L2). The drainage-length density is
significantly correlated with the groundwater recharge; a Fig. 2 The interactive influence of factors concerning the recharge
zone with a high drainage-length density has a high level property (modified from Shaban et al. 2006)

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Fig. 3 GIS technology used in spatial integration and analysis to
demarcate basin groundwater recharge potential zone
Study area
Geographical position and meteorological hydrology
The study area, the Chih-Pen Creek basin, is in the
southeast of Taiwan. The basin encompasses an area of
about 198.4 km2. The length of the river is about 39.3 km
Fig. 4 Location of the study
area
189
and it lies between longitudes 121°050 –121°500 E and lat-
itudes 22°350 –22°450 N. Figure 4 shows the geographical
location of the Chih-Pen Creek basin. The research region
belongs to the tropical marine climate, with a mean annual
temperature of 24.5°C and an average annual precipitation
for 1971–2006 of 1,800 mm year-1. During the summer,
southwest monsoons occur and typhoons bring heavy
rainfall. The northeast monsoon brings vapor from the
Pacific Ocean during the winter. Because water vapor is
blocked by the Central Mountains of Taiwan, there is little
rainfall in the winter. Therefore, the wet and dry seasons
are very distinct in this region. The wet season is from May
to October, and the dry season is from November to April.
Evapotranspiration is approximately 750 mm year-1. The
maximum streamflow on annual hydrographs occurs during
August and September, and the minimum flow occurs
during January and February (Yeh et al. 2007).
Topography and geology
The Chih-Pen Creek basin can be divided into two topo-
graphic units, namely the mountainous terrain and the
alluvial plain. The Chih-Pen Fault splits the basin into east
and west parts. The terrain in the west of the fault is pre-
cipitous and consists of metamorphic rock, covering part of
the Central Mountain Range. The east area of the fault is
the Taitung alluvial fan-delta. Because the end of the
alluvial fan has already entered the coastline, the delta
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Fig. 5 Three-dimensional
topographic map of the
Chih-Pen Creek basin
plain gradually changes to an alluvial fan delta. The relief
declines by 70 m km-1 from east to west, which is faster
than the north–south decline of about 30 m km-1. Figure 5
shows the three-dimensional topographic map of the Chih-
Pen Creek basin.
Taiwan can be divided into three major geological
terrains, namely the Tananao Schist terrain, the slate for-
mation terrain, and the Neogene-Quaternary sedimentary
strata terrain (Yen 1970). The only rock stratum, the Chih-
Pen Formation, in the Chih-Pen Creek basin belongs to the
slate formation terrain. In contrast to the other terrains,
which are composed of a variety of rock types, the slate
formation terrain has monotonous lithology. The rock types
in the Chih-Pen Formation are mainly slate with subordi-
nate meta-sandstone. However, lithofacies was determined
from the interpretation of the deposits as a submarine-slope
sequence. Additionally, the area contains folds and cleav-
age, indicating that the whole region is suffering very
strong compression (Lin and Lin 1998).
Groundwater recharge potential factor
establishment and spatial analysis
Factor establishment
This study analyzed the hydrologic and geographic attri-
butes of the Chih-Pen Creek basin, and identified five
major factors influencing groundwater recharge potential,
namely lithology, land use/cover, lineaments, drainage, and
slope. Each factor was examined and was assigned an
appropriate weight.
Each recharge potential factor may influence the
groundwater recharge process to a different degree.
Moreover, the factors are interdependent. Figure 2 illus-
trates the conceptual graph of the interrelationships
among the groundwater recharge potential factors. A major
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Environ Geol (2009) 58:185–195
Table 2 Relative rates for each factor
Factor Calculation process Proposed relative
rates
Lithology 3 9 1.0 = 3.0 3.0
Land cover/land 1 9 1.0 + 3 9 0.5 = 2.5 2.5
use
Lineaments 2 9 1.0 = 2.0 2.0
Drainage 1 9 1.0 + 1 9 0.5 = 1.5 1.5
Slope 1 9 1.0 + 1 9 0.5 = 1.5 1.5
R10.5
interrelationship between two factors is assigned a weight
of 1.0. A minor interrelationship between two factors is
assigned a weight of 0.5. Finally, the total weight of each
factor is the representing weight of the recharge potential.
For instance, major interrelationships exist for lithology on
lineaments, drainage and, land use/cover. Therefore, its
evaluated weight is 3.0. This high weight value means
that the factor significantly influences the groundwater
recharge. Table 2 shows the process for determining the
relative rate of each factor.
The extent of the influence of every factor on ground-
water recharge was assessed from the interrelationships
among the factors (major and minor). Analytical results
demonstrate that the factors influencing the groundwater
recharge potential of the Chih-Pen Creek basin, in
descending order, are lithology, land use/cover, lineaments,
drainage, and slope. Lithology and land use/cover are the
major factors influencing the basin groundwater recharge
potential. The score of each recharge potential factor was
calculated as 100 multiplied by the weight of the recharge
potential divided by the total weight of each recharge
potential factor. Table 3 shows the calculation approach.
A 1 km 9 1 km grid was used to quantify the score of
each recharge potential factor based on the characteristics
of lithology, land use/cover, lineament-length density,
Environ Geol (2009) 58:185–195 191

Table 3 Score of each recharge potential factor composed of metamorphic limestone. In the midstream
Factor Calculation process Proposed score
region, the basin mainly consists of the Tananao Schist, the
of each influencing slate and phyllite of the Pilushan Formation, and the slate
factor of the Lushan Formation. The downstream region is mainly
composed of gravelly sand. The gravel sand in the down-
Lithology 100 9 (3/10.5) = 29 29
stream and the metamorphic limestone in the upstream are
Land cover/land use 100 9 (2.5/10.5) = 24 24
excellent regions for percolation. Figure 6 shows the dis-
Lineaments 100 9 (2/10.5) = 19 19
tribution of lithology in the study area.
Drainage 100 9 (1.5/10.5) = 14 14
Slope 100 9 (1.5/10.5) = 14 14
Analysis of land use/cover
R100

The land use/cover of the Chih-Pen Creek basin was

drainage-length density, and slope of the Chih-Pen Creek. assessed in accordance with the Territory Utilization Status
The upper threshold of the score of each recharge potential Survey Database established by the Land Administration
factor was set to be the score of the corresponding recharge Bureau of the Taiwan Provincial Government. The infor-
potential factor. For example, the highest value of lithology mation was obtained from the original map of the territory
was 29. Table 4 lists the scores of the recharge potential utilization survey drawn by the Land Administration Office
factors of the study region. of the counties and cities. In the urban planning districts,
the 1/500, 1/600, 1/1,000 or 1/1,200 cadastral map was
Spatial analysis used as the base map. In the non-urban planning districts,
the 1/5,000 farming map from the Agriculture and Food
Analysis of the types of lithology Agency was used as the base map. The total area of
the Chih-Pen Creek basin is approximately 200 km2. The
The 1/250,000 geological map of Taiwan reveals that the mountain area occupies around 185 km2, i.e. 92.5% of the
upstream region of the Chih-Pen Creek basin is mainly basin. The area of level ground is around 15 km2, which is
7.5% of the basin. Most of the mountain area, which is
Table 4 Categorization of factors influencing recharge potential in forestland covered by vegetation is located in the mid-
the Chih-Pen Creek basin stream and upstream. This reduces runoff and increases the
Factor Domain of effect Proposed recharge. The level ground is mainly distributed in the
weight downstream alluvial plain and fragmentary small terrace
of effect along the riverbank. The left bank is mostly paddy fields,
with some orchards. The right bank is mainly dry farming
Slope gradient 55–90° 4
and orchards. Figure 7 illustrates the land use/cover dis-
35–55° 7
tribution diagram of the study.
15–35° 11
0–15° 14
Analysis of lineament-length density
Drainage density 0.0–1.5(segment per 1 km2) 4
1.5–3.0 7
For the assessment of the lineaments of Chih-Pen Creek
3.0–4.5 11
basin, a stereoscope was used to interpret the aerial photos
[4.5 14
from an agricultural aerial survey from 1996 to 2000,
Lineament 0.0–0.4(lineament per 1 km2) 6
which was verified on-site. The lineaments of the Chih-Pen
density 0.4–0.8 13
Creek basin are mainly distributed in the mid- and down-
0.8–1.2 19 stream. The lineament-length density of unit grids through
Land cover/land Building 6 which the lineaments passed through was approximately
use Forest 12 0.8–1.2 km (km2)-1. Some unit grids had densities of 0.4–
Agricultural land 18 0.8 km (km2)-1. Figure 8 depicts the lineament-length
Surface water body or river 24 density diagram of the study area.
channel
Lithology Shale, slate, Phyllite black schist 7
Analysis of drainage-length density
Phyllite intermixed with quartz 15
sandstone
The distribution of drainage in the Chih-Pen Creek basin
Marble 22
was determined using the aerial photos of the agricultural
Gravelly sand 29
aerial survey undertaken in 1996–2000. The Chih-Pen

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192
Fig. 6 Lithology map of the
study area
Fig. 7 Land use/cover map of
the study area
Creek basin can be roughly divided into dendritic and
grid drainage patterns. The dendritic drainage pattern is
distributed mostly in the northwest region of the basin,
while the southeast is mainly grid drainage. The dendritic
drainage pattern is influenced more by lithology than by
its structure. For example, the mudstone area in south-
ern Taiwan always results in a high density dendritic
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Environ Geol (2009) 58:185–195
drainage pattern. The drainage of the Chih-Pen Creek
basin is distributed mainly downstream. The drainage-
length density is often larger than 3.0 km (km2)-1,
making the region an excellent percolation recharge zone.
The up- and midstream are mostly 1.5–3.0 km (km2)-1.
Figure 9 shows the drainage length density of the study
area.
Environ Geol (2009) 58:185–195
Fig. 8 Lineament density map
of the study area
Fig. 9 Drainage density map of
the study area
Analysis of slope
The slope analysis function in GIS was used to assess the
variation of slope in the Chih-Pen Creek basin using data
from the Digital Terrain Model (DTM) database in Taiwan.
The Council of Agriculture authorized the Aerial Survey
Office of Forestry Bureau to measure and produce the
193
digital terrain information. Three-dimensional aerial photos
with regular 40 m sampling intervals were applied. The
Chih-Pen Creek basin belongs to a mountain area. The
gradient of its slope is greater than 35°. The precipitous
terrain causes rapid runoff and does not store water easily.
A small part of the downstream is fairly gentle, so the time
for percolation is increased. Since the terrain varies
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Fig. 10 Slope gradient map of

the study area

Fig. 11 Groundwater potential

zones map prepared using GIS

significantly, the factor slope varies inversely with the
groundwater recharge. Figure 10 illustrates the distribution
of slopes in the study area.
Demarcation of the groundwater recharge zone
Our results demonstrate that the groundwater recharge
potential zone of this basin can be divided into five grades,
namely very good, good, moderate, low, and poor, based
on the analysis of the five factors of groundwater recharge
potential. Analytical results demonstrate that the excellent
groundwater recharge potential zone is concentrated in the
downstream region due to the distribution of gravelly
stratum and agricultural land with a high infiltration ability.
Additionally, the concentration of drainage also helps
the streamflow to recharge the groundwater system. The

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Environ Geol (2009) 58:185–195
upstream region is less important and is influenced by
metamorphic limestone. Figure 11 shows the groundwater
recharge potential diagram of the study area.
Conclusions and recommendations
This study produced a groundwater recharge potential map
of the Chih-Pen Creek basin in Taiwan. The results indicate
that the most effective groundwater recharge potential zone
is located downstream. In this region, the gravelly stratum
and agricultural land have a high infiltration ability. Addi-
tionally, the concentration of drainage also indicates the
ability of streamflow to recharge the groundwater system.
The upstream region is least effective for groundwater
recharge, mainly due to its metamorphic limestone. This
study has established the interrelationships between the
groundwater recharge potential factors and the groundwater
recharge potential scores from the general hydrology
characteristics of Taiwan. Since the groundwater recharge
potential is directly correlated with percolation, the estab-
lished scores may be more accurate and objective if the rate
of percolation and hydraulic conductivity of each recharge
potential factor can be measured in a laboratory or on-site.
The groundwater recharge potential zones are demon-
strated using the grid model, which can be partially
modified to study groundwater recharge potential fac-
tors (such as changes in terrain and river courses caused by
an earthquake, or changes in land utilization) in a small area
in the future, thus avoiding extensive re-estimation, which
requires a lot of time and labor. The isotopic tracer tech-
nique will be applied to verify the model results in future
research. Additionally, the quantity of pumped groundwater
should be considered in the groundwater recharge.
Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank the Water
Resources Agency of the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the
Republic of China, Taiwan, for financially supporting this research
under Contract No. MOEAWRA0950416.
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