TY - JOUR
T1 - Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Approach for Siting Sewer Treatment Plants in Muscat, Oman
AU - Al Nasiri, Noura
AU - Al Fazari, Abdullah
AU - Ali, Waad
AU - Agyekum, Boadi
AU - Ramadan, Elnazir
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.
PY - 2023/9
Y1 - 2023/9
N2 - Sewer Treatment Plants (STPs) are essential pieces of infrastructure given the growing scarcity of water sources due to the challenges of urbanization. The positioning of STPs is a complex multidimensional process that involves integrative decision-making approaches that consider multiple sustainability criteria to ensure their optimal placement. The Multi-Criteria Decision Method (MCDM) is a suite of approaches available to decision-makers when making systematic and scientifically informed decisions on siting wastewater treatment plants. Although MCDM methods have manifold applications in different geographic contexts, there is a paucity of studies employing MCDM models for the siting of STPs within the context of Oman. In this study, we assessed the locations of existing STPs and identified suitable locations for future STPs within the Muscat Governorate of Oman using a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Analytic Hierarchy Process (MCDM-AHP) model in a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. Eight factors were considered in the MCDM-AHP model: slope, elevation, proximity to built-up areas, airports, valleys, road networks, the sea, parks, and golf courses. Each factor was assigned priority weights based on its importance using the AHP method. Thematic maps were generated to categorize the potential sites into different suitability levels. The results showed that the coastal areas of A’Seeb and Bowsher were the most suitable locations for STPs, representing only 1.19% of the total study area. The novelty of this study stems from the perspective of an original application within the context of Oman, which has generated novel results and interpretations. This has significant implications for urban policy and planning with respect to better informing decision-makers with a systematic framework for efficient wastewater treatment.
AB - Sewer Treatment Plants (STPs) are essential pieces of infrastructure given the growing scarcity of water sources due to the challenges of urbanization. The positioning of STPs is a complex multidimensional process that involves integrative decision-making approaches that consider multiple sustainability criteria to ensure their optimal placement. The Multi-Criteria Decision Method (MCDM) is a suite of approaches available to decision-makers when making systematic and scientifically informed decisions on siting wastewater treatment plants. Although MCDM methods have manifold applications in different geographic contexts, there is a paucity of studies employing MCDM models for the siting of STPs within the context of Oman. In this study, we assessed the locations of existing STPs and identified suitable locations for future STPs within the Muscat Governorate of Oman using a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Analytic Hierarchy Process (MCDM-AHP) model in a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. Eight factors were considered in the MCDM-AHP model: slope, elevation, proximity to built-up areas, airports, valleys, road networks, the sea, parks, and golf courses. Each factor was assigned priority weights based on its importance using the AHP method. Thematic maps were generated to categorize the potential sites into different suitability levels. The results showed that the coastal areas of A’Seeb and Bowsher were the most suitable locations for STPs, representing only 1.19% of the total study area. The novelty of this study stems from the perspective of an original application within the context of Oman, which has generated novel results and interpretations. This has significant implications for urban policy and planning with respect to better informing decision-makers with a systematic framework for efficient wastewater treatment.
KW - Oman
KW - analytic hierarchy process (AHP)
KW - geographic information system (GIS)
KW - multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM)
KW - population growth
KW - sewer treatment plants
KW - suitability analysis
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85172141705&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/urbansci7030082
DO - 10.3390/urbansci7030082
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85172141705
SN - 2413-8851
VL - 7
JO - Urban Science
JF - Urban Science
IS - 3
M1 - 82
ER -