Identification of suitable sites for construction of soil and water conservation structures in Salebhata catchment of Mahanadi river basin using geo-spatial technique

The present study was carried out to create a land suitability map and location of suitable sites for different types of soil and water conservation structures of the Salebhata watershed which lies in the middle reach of the Mahanadi River basin in Odisha, India. The classification of excellent, good, moderate and poor area for establishment of soil and water conservation structures in the basin was determined using AHP based weighted overlay method. The normalised weight for soil, land use/ land cover and slope were found to be 0.35, 0.45, and 0.2, respectively for establishment of soil and water conservation measures. The location of soil and water conservation measures like 52 water harvesting structures, 30 nala bunds, 24 percolation tanks, 27 bund, 18 trenches, 49 check dams, 40 farm ponds and 4 surface dykes were suggested based on weighted overlay technique in GIS. This study suggests a holistic and sustainable watershed development plan for Salebhata catchment which will help to arrest the soil and conserve sufficient water in the catchment.