Land Suitability for Biological Wastewater Treatment in Lebanon and the Litani River Basin Using Fuzzy Logic and Analytical Hierarchy Process

Abstract

Biological wastewater treatment (BWWT) has been demonstrated to be a suitable procedure to degrade organic pollutants by utilizing natural processes. This paper presents a validated model to map land suitability for BWWT systems under the climatic conditions of Lebanon and the Litani River basin, using the Geographic Information System (GIS) and a machine learning approach for the Litani River Basin and Lebanon. The model was validated using fuzzy theory and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) modeling theory, and a final suitability map was created in Lebanon that combined potential areas for Biological Wastewater Treatment (BWWT) based on particular criteria. Results show that spatial distribution of the suitable areas for BWWT sites differs for each of the criteria and the total extent of these potential areas is 162.94 km2 all over Lebanon and 42.62 km2 in the Litani basin areas. This area covers around 1.55% of the Lebanese areas and can help more than 30 regions while the total number of beneficiaries can reach a minimum of 60,000 and a maximum of 180,000 which represents between 1.5% and 3.75% of the total population. These potential areas are identified through land suitability classes to sustain the remaining BWWT areas and can contribute to the riparian forest ecosystem and mitigate the impact of climate change.