Waterlogging Risk Assessment of Patiala City, Punjab Using Analytical Hierarchy Process and GIS Analysis: A Case Study

Waterlogging is one of the most critical environmental problems of an urban area and requires proper management. Urbanization without proper planning causes waterlogging, resulting in significant built-up damages, economic losses, and negative impacts on health. To manage this issue properly, waterlogging mapping is the preliminary task to identify the probable waterlogging areas. In this study, we carried out a waterlogging risk analysis and prepared a waterlogging risk zone for the Patiala city of Punjab. Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) incorporated with GIS techniques has been used to prepare waterlogging risk mapping. Four criteria are selected for AHP based on the best data availability. These criteria are elevation, slope, land use land cover, and hydrologic soil group. These criteria are further classified into different importance levels relating to flood risk. The pair-wise comparison matrix of AHP is prepared using the importance level suggested by experts, and the weights of four different criteria are calculated. The waterlogging map is produced using the weights and representative factors of the respective criteria. The results of the waterlogging risk map are split up into five risk zones: severe, high, moderate, low, and very low. These findings of the water logging map will demonstrate the areas under flood risk for which decision-makers may take necessary action to prevent such environmental problems.