Development of site suitability analysis system for riverbank filtration

Site selection plays a crucial role in riverbank filtration for sustainable water availability and quality. Choosing the most appropriate from among multiple candidate sites requires a complex procedure, involving many tangibles and intangibles. In this study, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), which selects the optimal alternative by hierarchically classifying various attributes and then quantifying the importance of each attribute, was used to prioritize candidate locations for riverbank filtration. A GIS-based computer program was developed to automate the assessment process. The developed software was applied to the Han River in Korea. Analysis of four candidate sites reveals that a site that has better water quality and connectivity to the neighboring purification facility is more suitable than other locations.