Optimization of Rainwater Harvesting Sites using GIS

Link to full Journal Paper

Water scarcity is hitting new peaks every day and is exacerbated by the current rapid climatic change. Demand for clean water in India is very high, especially for agriculture and consumption. One way to cater to these needs is through rainwater harvesting. Through this paper, we propose a framework that optimizes the site selection for reservoirs by intersecting various data points. Our framework uses a three-step approach to combine stream networks, digital elevation, and soil quality to produce the most viable reservoir sites. Our framework is easy to implement and highly scalable. For the purpose of this paper and a proof of concept, we restrict our focus to the arid Beed district in the state of Maharashtra, India. Our approach provides consistent results that are corroborated by the manual inferences that can be drawn from the data under consideration.

We create a simulation model that uses weather data and GIS data to formulate rainwater collection to optimize rainwater harvesting. My team developed a framework to optimize rainwater harvesting by finding viable reservoir locations using hydrological data, digital elevation maps and soil information using GIS software. Our project received a research grant from the University of Mumbai.

• geoinformatics system
• arcgis
• isro mosdac
• soilgrids
• bhuvan topological data
• hydrosheds
• decision support systems