COMPARISON OF FUZZY ANALYTICAL HIERARCHY PROCESS AND ANALYTICAL HIERARCHY PROCESS FOR RAINWATER HARVESTING SITES SELECTION: The Case of Meyu Muluke Watershed, Ethiopia

Abstract

Water plays a crucial role in fulfilling basic human needs, for socio-economic developments and for ecosystem services. Absence of this vital resource for extended periods, make severe drought in the affected areas. The goal of the study was to locate prospective sites for rainwater gathering in the Meyu Muluke Watershed. Data Analysis Hierarchy Each influential factor's weight was determined using a process methodology, and then these components were processed and aggregated using a weighted linear combination technique. Seven key layers of the research area, include were used to identify the suitability of Rainwater harvesting: these are Slope, Runoff, Drainage density, Land cover, Soil texture, Euclidean distance to Urban, and Road. Runoff depth was computed using the Soil Conservation Service Curve number. Weighting was made based on environmental, socio-economical, and hydro-geological characteristics of the study area and the kinds of literature. Reclassification and fuzzification were used to standardize the parameters. Weighted Linear Combination aggregation was made to get the result. The result of the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchical Process of this research shows that each potential suitability class coverage was: very suitability and extremely suitability 361.1 km2 (37%), less suitable and suitable was 423 km2 (44%) and not suitable 189.5 km2 (19%) for Rainwater harvesting. Similarly, the result of the Analytical Hierarchical Process of this research shows that each potential suitability class coverage was: very suitable and extremely suitable 253.1 km2 (26%), less suitability and suitability class 410.1 km2 (42.1%) and not suitable 310.8 km2 (31.9%) for Rainwater harvesting. Finally, the result indicates very suitable and extremely suitable (37%) and (26%) in Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchical Process and Analytical Hierarchical Process respectively, for site selection of suitable Rainwater harvesting. The fuzzy Analytical Hierarchical Process was preferable to Analytical Hierarchical Process. Selecting a potential rainwater collection point to support water system design and solve Meyu Muluke's water shortage problem