Water Resource Potential Assessment for Pump Irrigation Systems for Open Source in Caraga Region, Philippines

Abstract

Irrigation water resource assessment is an important step towards maximizing water availability and land productivity in rainfed areas. The traditional fragmented approach of identifying potential sites for irrigation facilities is no longer viable, and a more innovative technique to assess water resources is essential. This paper presents the Geographic Information System (GIS) technique in identifying the water resource potential sites for an irrigation development project in Caraga Region, Philippines. The process includes digitizing satellite images, buffering water bodies, rasterizing thematic maps, reclassifying raster data according to suitability scale, and analyzing data using the GIS tools to generate a suitability map, particularly in rainfed agricultural areas. Results showed that only 59% (634,906 hectares) of the rainfed agricultural area in the region is suitable that encompassed marginally suitable, moderately suitable, and highly suitable with a suitability percentage distribution of 28% (180,143 hectares), 19% (121,338 hectares), and 12% (73,180 hectares), respectively. Based on the suitability map, the Caraga region has a high potential for future PISOS establishment. The generated suitability map served as a tool in the decision-making process by the concerned locals and stakeholders to optimize and identify the location to implement future projects effectively and efficiently.