DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR WATER SUPPLY ASSESSMENT; A JUDICIOUS APPROACH APPLIED FOR KHARTOUM NEW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (KNIA) WATER SUPPLY PLANNING

Abstract

This study aims to assess the approach to plan the water supply system for the Khartoum New International Airport (KINA), which is located south of Omdurman, 45 km south-west of the of Khartoum city center. The authors by developing and judiciously applying a Decision Support System (DSS trees and matrices) succeeded in obtaining an optimum water supply system design for such a large infrastructure project. It should be noted that, DSS integrate a broader range of topics, addressing the problem from a macro perspective. The purpose of a DSS is to create tools that help maximize the efficiency of a decision-making process through the application of relevant knowledge. The Khartoum New International Airport (KINA) study area is 103 km2 and has three potential water resources namely, Jebel Aulia reservoir, ground water and El Mansorab khor water harvesting project. For El Mansorab khor, GIS was used for both delineation and physical characteristics. The outflow was carried out by using HEC-HMS software. The wells tests were taken from the Master Plan Study of KINA. The Jebel Aulia treatment plant in the downstream was taken as main water supply. All sources were conceded to the tank which is to be located in the highest point of KINA. It should be noted that, the seven strategy evaluation criteria for KINA considered are: Proximity to the Khartoum New International Airport (KNIA), Quantity of water, Affordability, Dependability, Environmental quality, Quality of the water and Permitting feasibility. The study concluded that, the most convenient, economic and reliable source for water supply is Jebel Aulia treatment plant. Therefore, it had been suggested that the water supply for KNIA is going to be composed of a water transmission line that delivers water from Jebel Aulia water treatment plant. Moreover, the Al Mansorab khor had seasonal flow just for three months per year (and is used, at present, for the local community needs) and also wells water quality was not complying with the drinking water standard.