Hafeez et al. (2025) Mapping of potential storages and rainwater harvesting sites in arid region of Indus basin using analytical hierarchy technique

Identification

• Journal: Scientific Reports
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-10-22
• Authors: Muhammad Hafeez, Muhammad Jehanzeb Masud Cheema, Umar Waqas Liaqat, Muhammad Amin, Muhammad Usman
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-20915-9

Research Groups

• International Water Management Institute, Lahore, Pakistan
• Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Punjab, Pakistan

Short Summary

This study mapped potential rainwater harvesting and storage sites in the 23,204 square kilometer Pothowar region of the Indus basin using GIS and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). It found that over 89% of the region is moderately to very highly suitable for rainwater harvesting, proposing specific mini dam locations to address water scarcity.

Objective

• To assess the availability, demand, and utilization of water reservoirs using GIS technology to identify potential storage sites for rainwater harvesting in the Pothowar region.
• To determine possible locations for the construction of reservoirs, check dams, and ponds by evaluating current water resource patterns.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Pothowar region, Pakistan, covering approximately 23,204 square kilometers across five districts: Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Attock, and Jhelum.
• Temporal Scale: Rainfall data analyzed for the period 2012 to 2022.

Methodology and Data

• Models used:
  • Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) for multi-criteria decision analysis.
  • Geographic Information System (GIS) (ArcGIS 10.8.2) for spatial analysis, watershed delineation, flow direction (D-8 rule), and stream ordering (Strahler method).
  • Support Vector Machine (SVM) technique for Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) classification.
• Data sources:
  • ALOS PALSAR Digital Elevation Model (DEM) with 12.5 meter resolution for elevation, slope, and drainage density.
  • Sentinel-2 Analysis Ready Data (ARD) with 10 meter resolution from Copernicus Open Access Hub for LULC mapping.
  • ERA-5 L Rainfall data with 11,132 meter resolution from Google Earth Engine for rainfall distribution (2012-2022).
  • Soil Survey Point Data (Ahmad et al., 2019) for soil texture mapping.
  • Pothowar Irrigation Department for existing water structure data.

Main Results

• The Pothowar region was delineated into 6,508 sub-watersheds and outlets.
• Suitability classification for rainwater harvesting:
  • Very highly suitable: 3.79% of the area.
  • Highly suitable: 44.81% of the area.
  • Moderately suitable: 41.00% of the area.
  • Not suitable: 10.40% of the area.
• Proposed mini dam sites based on suitability:
  • Very highly suitable outlets: 121
  • Highly suitable outlets: 3,655
  • Moderately suitable outlets: 2,188
  • Not suitable outlets: 690
• The region's stream network spans 76,495.99 kilometers with 266,847 distinct streams.
• Average annual rainfall ranged from 615 to 1325 millimeters (2012-2022).
• The most suitable slope for rainwater harvesting was identified between 0° and 3.3°.
• Land Use/Land Cover distribution: Croplands (32.08%), built-up areas (27.68%), forested areas (23.69%).

Contributions

• Provides a comprehensive and systematic framework for identifying potential water storage and rainwater harvesting sites in arid regions by integrating GIS tools, local features, and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP).
• Enhances the understanding of the Pothowar region's hydrological dynamics through high-resolution 12.5 meter DEM data and detailed land use mapping, offering a significant advantage over studies using more generalized datasets.
• Offers actionable recommendations for future infrastructure development by identifying specific "very highly suitable" mini dam locations.
• Develops a transferable methodology applicable to other water-scarce regions facing similar challenges.
• Addresses a research gap by specifically focusing on water storage assessments and potential site identification for rainwater harvesting in rainfed regions like Pothowar, integrating multiple spatial layers for effective decision-making.

Funding

• CGIAR Trust Fund under the project CGIAR Policy Innovations Program (C-0057).

Citation

@article{Hafeez2025Mapping,
  author = {Hafeez, Muhammad and Cheema, Muhammad Jehanzeb Masud and Liaqat, Umar Waqas and Amin, Muhammad and Usman, Muhammad},
  title = {Mapping of potential storages and rainwater harvesting sites in arid region of Indus basin using analytical hierarchy technique},
  journal = {Scientific Reports},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1038/s41598-025-20915-9},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-20915-9}
}