Site selection for artificial recharge with treated wastewater with the integration of multi-criteria evaluation and ELECTRE III

Abstract

The suitable location selection for artificial recharge with treated wastewater is an important issue, especially in arid and semiarid countries as a result of rapid population growth, increasing water demand, excessive use of groundwater resources, and mismanagement of limited freshwater resources. However, the determination of suitable sites is a complex process affected the environment, social, and economic concerns. This study shows the integration of the geographic information system (GIS) and the multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) to determine a suitable artificial recharge site with treated wastewater for Ariana, Tunisia. According to the literature review, data available on artificial recharge and regional characteristics, thirteen constraints and five factors were determined to choose the best potential site for artificial recharge. The constraints helped the determination of unsuitable sites with Boolean logic, while factors, standardized using fuzzy logic and weighted with the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), helped to identify suitable locations. All criteria were overlaid on a decision structure after two scenarios based on environment and economic were identified with a weighted linear combination (WLC) that selects the suitable sites for artificial recharge. The results indicated that three potential sites were suitable for artificial recharge with treated wastewater. Finally, the ELECTRE III method was used to classify the three determining potential areas to order the best locations for aquifer recharge with treated water according to their characteristics from higher to lower weighted: distance from the road, geometric form of the site, cost of the site, and distance from wetlands.