Landfill Site Selection Using Geographic Information System(Case study: Javanrood City)

Determining the location of landfill sites is a difficult and complex process because it is necessary to consider different factors and criteria in the landfill sitting process. In this study, in order to consider all parameters, a combination of Geographic Information System (GIS) and the Multi Criteria Evaluation (MCE) was used for landfill site selection in Javanrood County. For the purpose of making decisions in landfill site selection different parameters have been identified, including distance to groundwater, distance to surface water, land cover, distance to urban and rural areas, land uses, distance to roads, slope, distance to faults and geology type. Each criterion was evaluated with the aid of AHP and mapped by GIS. Then, the layer was standardized and the relative importance of criteria to each other was determined by an analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Weighted Linear Combination (WLC) method was applied to evaluate the land suitability. Data were assorted into four suitability classes within the study area, i.e., high, moderate, low and very low suitability areas. Based on the results, 15% was determined to be suitable for a landfill site. Finally, two candidate sites were determined after field investigation