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Mapping of potential sites for rainwater harvesting structures using GIS and MCDM approaches: case study of the Toudgha watershed, Morocco

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Abstract

The Toudgha watershed, located in southeastern Morocco, is characterized by an arid climate and an erratic spatiotemporal rainfall distribution. In this area, rainwater harvesting structures play a considerable role in water supply application and ensure integrated water management. The main aim of this work was to develop water mobilization construction plans based on multi-criteria analysis in order to optimize the selection of sites for rainwater harvesting structures. Several criteria that control the availability of rainwater harvesting structure construction were selected and analyzed using remote sensing, geographic information systems, and the analytical hierarchy process, and were integrated in order to weight the influence of the selected criteria. As a result, and based on the multi-criteria decision maker, the potential areas were mapped and classified on the basis of their suitability for rainwater harvesting structure construction. Available areas for water harvesting systems accompanying agricultural activities and ecological tourism cover 87.72% of the total area of the watershed. Suitable zones for groundwater recharge due to fracture permeability were estimated to comprise about 12.35% of the total area of the watershed. Potential sites for rainwater harvesting structures, especially hill dams, account for 5.93% of the total area. The suitability of hill dams construction was confirmed by evaluating the storage capacities of four proposed dams. The results of this study provide decision makers with a useful map for water mobilization planning aimed at providing an additional water supply for various uses.

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Acknowledgements

The data used in this work were provided by the Hydraulic Agency of Guir-Ziz-Rheris Basins as part of its collaboration with the Faculty of Sciences and Techniques of Errachidia. The authors thank all the staff of the Hydraulic Agency of Guir-Ziz-Rheris Basins for the facilities provided during the research collaboration. This work was carried out in part within the CHARISMA Project with the assistance of the Hassan 2 Academy of Sciences and Techniques and the support of Ibn Zohr University and the WASA project.

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No funding was received for conducting this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Engineering Sciences and Techniques, Geo-Resource Geo-Environment Geological and Oasis Heritage Research Team, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques of Errachidia, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco

    Lamya Ouali & Lahcen Kabiri

  2. Faculty of Applied Sciences, Ibn Zohr University, Ait Melloul, Morocco

    Mohammed Hssaisoune

  3. Laboratory of Applied Geology and Geo-Environment, Faculty of Sciences, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir, Morocco

    Mohammed Hssaisoune & Lhoussaine Bouchaou

  4. Guir-Ziz-Rheris Hydraulic Basin Agency, Errachidia, Morocco

    Moulay M’hamed Slimani & Kamal El Mouquaddam

  5. Data Science for Sustainable Earth Laboratory, Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni Mellal, Morocco

    Mustapha Namous

  6. Water Resources Management and Valorization and Remote Sensing Team, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni Mellal, Morocco

    Abdelkrim Arioua

  7. National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE), Errachidia, Morocco

    Asma Ben Moussa

  8. National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE), International Institute for Water and Sanitation (IEA), Rabat, Morocco

    Hanane Benqlilou

  9. International Water Research Institute (IWRI), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Ben Guerir, Morocco

    Lhoussaine Bouchaou

Authors
  1. Lamya Ouali
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  2. Mohammed Hssaisoune
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  3. Lahcen Kabiri
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  4. Moulay M’hamed Slimani
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  5. Kamal El Mouquaddam
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  6. Mustapha Namous
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  7. Abdelkrim Arioua
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  8. Asma Ben Moussa
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  9. Hanane Benqlilou
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  10. Lhoussaine Bouchaou
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Contributions

All authors contributed to study conception and design, material preparation, data collection, and analysis. The first draft of the manuscript was written by LO, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Lamya Ouali.

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Communicated by Anthony Lehmann, Chief Editor.

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Ouali, L., Hssaisoune, M., Kabiri, L. et al. Mapping of potential sites for rainwater harvesting structures using GIS and MCDM approaches: case study of the Toudgha watershed, Morocco. Euro-Mediterr J Environ Integr 7, 49–64 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41207-022-00294-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41207-022-00294-7

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