Abstract
Biological wastewater treatment (BWWT) has been demonstrated to be a suitable procedure to degrade organic pollutants by utilizing natural processes. This paper presents a validated model to map land suitability for BWWT systems under the climatic conditions of Lebanon and the Litani River basin, using the Geographic Information System (GIS) and a machine learning approach for the Litani River Basin and Lebanon. The model was validated using fuzzy theory and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) modeling theory, and a final suitability map was created in Lebanon that combined potential areas for Biological Wastewater Treatment (BWWT) based on particular criteria. Results show that spatial distribution of the suitable areas for BWWT sites differs for each of the criteria and the total extent of these potential areas is 162.94 km2 all over Lebanon and 42.62 km2 in the Litani basin areas. This area covers around 1.55% of the Lebanese areas and can help more than 30 regions while the total number of beneficiaries can reach a minimum of 60,000 and a maximum of 180,000 which represents between 1.5% and 3.75% of the total population. These potential areas are identified through land suitability classes to sustain the remaining BWWT areas and can contribute to the riparian forest ecosystem and mitigate the impact of climate change.
Highlights
In Lebanon, the demand on water resources for domestic, commercial, industrial, and agricultural use is dramatically increasing [1], due to fast population growth and demographic change [2]
The main objective of this study was to develop a land suitability assessment method for a biological wastewater treatment system in Lebanon based on fuzzy logic and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP)
For Lebanon (Table 2) and the Litani River Basin (Table 3), the restriction criteria employed in this study were land use, soil components, slope, precipitation, and low population number
Summary
In Lebanon, the demand on water resources for domestic, commercial, industrial, and agricultural use is dramatically increasing [1], due to fast population growth and demographic change [2]. In southern Lebanon, the Litani River provides a vital supply of water. Climate change and water shortages are affecting water availability for irrigation and agricultural output in a country that has the highest number of renewable water resources per unit area in the Middle East. Lebanon is a country facing water stress and food insecurity, with more than 7 million people and fewer than 2 billion m3 of available water. The average annual rainfall of Lebanon is estimated to be 823 mm, ranging from 600 to 900 mm at the coast to 1400 mm in the high highlands, and dropping to 400 mm in the east and less than 200 mm in the north-east. Within the MENA region, Lebanon is thought to have a reasonably good water balance
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