Site Suitability Assessment for Artificial Waterbodies Using GIS and AHP: A Case Study of Aligarh, India

Artificial water bodies are crucial for mitigating increasing water scarcity and urban environmental issues in semi-arid areas. This study examines the suitability of sites for artificial waterbody construction within a 3-km buffer of the Aligarh municipality boundary through an integrated geospatial data. The study utilizes remote sensing, GIS techniques, and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to integrate six significant criteria: land use land cover (LULC), proximity to built-up, proximity to roads, slope, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and land surface temperature (LST). The study produces a weighted overlay analysis (WOA) map categorizing the area into zones of high, moderate, and low suitability. The results demonstrate that merely 3.01% of the area is classified as highly suitable, while 42.98% is deemed somewhat acceptable, and 54.01% is considered unsuitable for the construction of artificial water bodies. The research underscores the utility of geospatial decision-support tools for enhancing urban water management, conserving biodiversity, and facilitating sustainable land use planning. The study also presents a framework for wetland management and stakeholder involvement to guarantee the long-term maintenance and development of ecosystem services in the Aligarh district.