Rainwater Harvesting Site Assessment Using Geospatial Technologies in a Semi-Arid Region: Toward Water Sustainability

AL-Hasani, B ORCID: 0000-0003-2189-4018, Abdellatif, M ORCID: 0000-0003-2314-3883, Carnacina, I ORCID: 0000-0001-5567-7180, Harris, C ORCID: 0000-0001-7601-7317, Maaroof, BF and Zubaidi, SL (2025) Rainwater Harvesting Site Assessment Using Geospatial Technologies in a Semi-Arid Region: Toward Water Sustainability. Water, 17 (15). ISSN 2073-4441

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Abstract

Rainwater harvesting for sustainable agriculture (RWHSA) offers a viable and eco-friendly strategy to alleviate water scarcity in semi-arid regions, particularly for agricultural use. This study aims to identify optimal sites for implementing RWH systems in northern Iraq to enhance water availability and promote sustainable farming practices. An integrated geospatial approach was adopted, combining Remote Sensing (RS), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). Key thematic layers, including soil type, land use/land cover, slope, and drainage density were processed in a GIS environment to model runoff potential. The Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN) method was used to estimate surface runoff. Criteria were weighted using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), enabling a structured and consistent evaluation of site suitability. The resulting suitability map classifies the region into four categories: very high suitability (10.2%), high (26.6%), moderate (40.4%), and low (22.8%). The integration of RS, GIS, AHP, and MCDA proved effective for strategic RWH site selection, supporting cost-efficient, sustainable, and data-driven agricultural planning in water-stressed environments.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	rainwater harvesting; multi-criteria decision analysis; suitable sites; semi-arid regions; sustainable agriculture; 37 Earth Sciences; 41 Environmental Sciences; 3704 Geoinformatics; 15 Life on Land
Subjects:	T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) T Technology > TD Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering
Divisions:	Engineering and Built Environment
Publisher:	MDPI AG
Date of acceptance:	21 July 2025
Date of first compliant Open Access:	22 September 2026
Date Deposited:	22 Sep 2026 10:23
Last Modified:	22 Sep 2026 10:23
DOI or ID number:	10.3390/w17152317
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/29500

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