Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Associated with Groundwater Over-Exploitation Vulnerability: Geographic Information System-Based Multi-criteria Decision Analysis

Groundwater over-exploitation is related to various environmental, economic, and social aspects, which should be addressed comprehensively to support a sustainable water supply globally. This is the first study to delineate the sustainable development goals (SDGs) associated with groundwater management practices to minimize over-exploitation episodes. Ten thematic maps of hydrologic, geologic, and topographic layers for the Wadi El-Natrun basin, Egypt, were investigated using geographic information system-based multi-criteria decision analysis. The layers were integrated to obtain an overall vulnerability map, which showed that ~ 45%, ~ 35%, ~ 15%, and ~ 5% of the total basin area have ‘high’, ‘medium’, ‘very high’, and ‘low’ vulnerability index (VI) values, respectively. Field measurements of piezometric water levels fit well to the estimated VI values, depicting high validation accuracy ( R 2 = 0.87). Based on sensitivity analysis, the vulnerability to groundwater over-exploitation was influenced highly by distance from feeding fault (DFF), followed by the aquifer’s hydraulic conductivity (HC) and land surface elevation. The western and southern zones of the basin were highly vulnerable to groundwater over-exploitation because of long DFF, low HC, and dominance of upland plains, steep slopes, and elevated surface with increased groundwater depth. The interactions among all thematic criteria and vulnerability indices showed strong correlations with SDGs and associated targets regarding ending poverty and hunger, providing safe and affordable water utilization, supporting economic growth, and protecting land and water ecosystems. Defining SDG linkages would assist in sustainable water resource utilization, planning, and management worldwide, particularly in water-stressed areas. Graphic Abstract