Keywords
site selection
suitability map
watershed management
Abstract
Fresh water from natural resources serves as a valuable source for irrigation, helping to meet the water demands of people. Given the region's diverse topography and rainfall patterns, it is considered necessary to develop a rainwater harvesting system. This research employs spatial modeling and multi-criteria analysis using the ArcGIS tool to evaluate various factors such as rainfall data, slope, stream order, drainage density, land uses/land cover, soil type, and distance to roads. The main goal of the research is to identify suitable sites for a rainwater harvesting system. The criteria were classified according to their suitability. The results show that 23.26% of the study area is classified as very high suitability, followed by 20.83%, 17.13%, 15.34%, and 14.38% as medium suitability, low suitability, high suitability, unsuitable, and others, respectively. The findings of the research can be a useful tool for concerned authorities and other agencies in identifying areas prone to flooding or erosion, guiding farmers to refrain from cultivation in such vulnerable zones, and implementing farm management strategies as well. Maps can highlight the soil properties, which farmers can use to identify crops best suited for specific fields. The rainfall condition of the study area can also be a basis for applying irrigation according to the water requirements of the crops to be planted, thereby preventing water waste and sedimentation.
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