Introducing suitable places for establishing rainwater catchment systems in Latyan Watershed

Arid and semi-arid regions with highly variable rainfall and periods of drought or unpredictable floods have severely affected residents' water shortages and they are often living in insecure areas. Rainwater catchment systems are one of the available solutions to overcome water shortage and runoff management in these areas. Surface runoff is a potential source of water that, with proper management and rainwater extraction methods, can be used to meet demand in various sectors, including agriculture and drinking. This study was conducted with the aim of introducing suitable places for establishing rainwater catchment systems in Latyan Watershed. Essential maps of the watershed for this study included land cover coefficient, permeability of formations and soil, average long-term rainfall, slope, land use, and drainage network were prepared. The mentioned maps were each divided into five categories and by overlaying in ARC/GIS 10.7.2 environment, finally suitable places for runoff production of the watershed were obtained to create catchment levels. The results showed that slope percentage, type of land use, NDVI and climate in this watershed were effective factors for runoff production. In addition, the map of runoff production potential classes showed that the frequency percentages related to runoff production potential classes were very high, high, medium, and low, respectively 3.2, 22, 33.6 and 23.5%. For the construction of these systems, priority is given to areas that have the potential and frequency of upper class in terms of runoff production, which areas with medium runoff production potential have this feature. Introducing suitable places to establish rainwater catchment systems can maximize the probability of success of rainwater harvesting projects.