Groundwater in semiarid regions is of extreme importance due to limited water resources and increasing population demand. Hence, a better knowledge of aquifer potentialities is required for better management of this precious resource. This study aims to assess the groundwater potential map (GPM) by both statistical methods and geographical information system (GIS) in Sfax region, Tunisia. A number of 11,868 wells in the region were mapped in GIS and divided into two data sets: 8308 wells (70%) were selected in a random way and defined as training, wells while the remaining ones (3560 as 30%) were considered as testing wells for model validation. First, the groundwater conditioning factors, namely altitude, slope, lithology, drainage density, lineament density and land use maps, were evaluated and then processed by the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP), frequency ratio (FR), and weights of evidence (WOE) statistical models. Then, the groundwater potential index (GWPI) was generated from an overlap of the weighted and rated of all the conditioning factors for the three methods. The groundwater potential maps were produced in ArcGIS 10.3 for the three models and classified by means of the quantile classification method. As a final step, the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves validated these maps. The validation results show from the areas under the curves (AUC) that the WOE model (AUC = 71.4%) performs similarly to the FR model (AUC = 71.1%), and both are slightly better than the FAHP (AUC = 65.1%) model. Thus, the delineation of groundwater potential zones supports the decision makers for the management of the aquifer exploitation. The appropriate groundwater potential map is established for a suitable management and a better planning of the water resources. Preventive works in low potential coastal areas should be conducted in the present and considered for a long-term management. Given the close results of the three adopted methods, it is possible to apply them in other regions with a consideration of their specific characteristics.

由于水资源有限和人口需求增加，半干旱地区的地下水极为重要。因此，需要更好地了解含水层的潜力，以便更好地管理这一宝贵资源。这项研究旨在通过统计方法和地理信息系统（GIS）评估突尼斯Sfax地区的地下水潜力图（GPM）。在GIS中将该地区的11868口井进行了映射，并分为两个数据集：随机选择了8308口井（占70％）并定义为训练井，其余的（3560口井占30％）被认为是训练井。测试井以进行模型验证。首先，地下水调节因子，即海拔，坡度，岩性，排水密度，线质密度和土地利用图，评估，然后通过模糊层次分析法（FAHP），频率比（FR）和证据权重（WOE）统计模型进行处理。然后，通过三种方法的所有条件因子的加权和额定值的重叠生成了地下水潜力指数（GWPI）。在ArcGIS 10.3中针对这三种模型生成了地下水势图，并通过分位数分类方法进行了分类。作为最后一步，接收机工作特性（ROC）曲线验证了这些图。验证结果从曲线下的面积（AUC）可以看出，WOE模型（AUC = 71.4％）的性能与FR模型（AUC = 71.1％）相似，两者均略优于FAHP（AUC = 65.1％）模型。从而，地下水潜在区的划分为决策者提供了对含水层开采管理的支持。建立适当的地下水潜力图是为了进行适当的管理和更好地规划水资源。目前应在低潜力沿海地区进行预防性工作，并考虑进行长期管理。鉴于三种采用方法的接近结果，考虑到它们的特定特性，可以将它们应用于其他地区。