Author(s)

Ataullah Darzar

Affiliation(s)

Kandahar University, Engineering Faculty, Civil Department, Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Corresponding Author

Ataullah Darzar

ABSTRACT

Suitable dam site selection is an essential or very important task in water resource management. The southern zone of Afghanistan is one of those areas that faces many Dam-related problems, such as hydroelectric power, agricultural products, low water table or less recreational activity. At the same time, the economy of this area is largely based on agriculture. Therefore, to solve these problems we should construct more dams at different areas, because dams can serve and solve these problems. This study used six influencing factors (Stream Order “Distance to Stream”, Slope, Geology, Land use/cover, Soil and Digital Elevation Model DEM) in conjunction with Dam Suitability Stream Model DSSM as Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), to generate dam site suitability map of the Arghistan watershed, which is located in the Helmand major basin along Paktika, Ghazni, Zabul, and Kandahar provinces of Afghanistan. Each influencing factor in DSSM is weighted using Analytical Hierarchy Process AHP, before being subjected to two-time overlay analysis in Geographical Information System (ArcGIS 10.7.1) platform. 1^st where Stream Order is considered as the main parameter to create suitability on the stream map. 2^nd as a counterpart of Stream Order, the Distance to Streams layer is utilized to create an overall suitability map. Four kinds of suitability’s are visualized in each of the resulting maps, such as “Not, less, moderate, or high suitable”. By storing water for various local or regional applications the planned dam sites will lower the risk of flooding and provide hydroelectric power. Additionally, using the reservoir’s stored water for farming.

KEYWORDS

DSSM; GIS; AHP; MCDA; Dam Site Suitability; Arghistan Watershed

CITE THIS PAPER

Ataullah Darzar. Dam site suitability mapping using GIS-based dam suitability stream model ‘DSSM’: A case study on the Arghistan watershed in Helmand major basin, Afghanistan. Academic Journal of Earth Sciences. 2024, 2(2): 21-33. DOI: 10.61784/ajes3001.

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