Water Balance Based Sustainability Analysis of Supply and Demand, Towards Developing a Hybrid Index (Case Study: Aharchay Watershed)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Professor, School of Civil Engineering, University of Tehran

2 M.Sc. Student, School of Civil Engineering, University of Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Planning of water systems in order to be ready for future development conditions needs further studies on the estimation sustainable levels of demands. In this study a threefold approach for estimating sustainability level of supply and demand in Ahachay watershed in northeastern part of Iran as a case study is taken. In the first method, the internal flows and the origins and final uses of the total resources for each subsystem are estimated and sustainability use index is calculated by physical input output table. In the second method a simulation model is utilized to estimate reliability, resiliency, vulnerability and maximum deficit for a watershed to determine a sustainability index. In the third method, for evaluating the movement toward sustainability, an index is developed. This index includes indicators that are the difference between supply and demand, percentage of the satisfied demand, productivity of water resources and an indicator for evaluating the reduction of aquifer storage. Finally these methods are compared and a hybrid index combining the indices is developed. This hybrid index can be used for evaluating the planning scenarios and for maintaining and improving the sustainable state of supply/demand for the region.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Ahmadi B (2011) A climate driven model for increased in water productivity of agricultural sector. Master Thesis, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran (In Persian)
Aras river basin master plan (2016) Evaluation of water resources report, Lar Consulting Engineering Company, Azerbaijan regional water board authority, East Azerbaijan, Iran (In Persian)
Gasco G, Hermosilla D, Gasco A, Nardeo JM (2005) Application of a physical input–output table to evaluate the development and sustainability of continental water resources in Spain. Elsevior, Environmental Management, 36(1):59–72
Hashimoto T, Stedinger JR., Loucks DP (1982) Reliability, resiliency, and vulnerability criteria for water resources performance evaluation. Water Resour. Res. 181:14–20
Karamouz M, Nazif S, Ahmadi A (2006) Sustainability indexes in water resources management. 6th Biennial Conference of Community of Environmental Professionals of Iran (In Persian)
Karamouz M (2008) Updating the state of water supply and demand and drought management in the Aharchay watershed, University of Tehran-East Azerbaijan Regional Water Board Authority, East Azerbaijan, Iran, 350 pp (In Persian)
Karamouz M, Rasouli K, Nazif S (2009) Development of a hybrid index for drought prediction: case study. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, 14(6), 617-627
Loucks DP (1997) Quantifying trends in system sustainability. Hydrological Science Journal, 42(4), 513-530
Nayak PC, Wardlaw R, Kharya AK (2015) Water balance approach to study the effect of climate change on groundwater storage for Sirhind command area in India. International Journal of River Basin Management 13(2):243-261
OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) (1993) Environmental indicators: basic concepts and terminology. Background paper No. 1. OECD, Paris, 150 pp
Safavi HR, Golmohamadi MH (2016) Evaluating the water resource systems performance using fuzzy reliability, resilience and vulnerability. Iran-Water Resources Research 12(1):68-83 (In Persian)
Sandoval-Solis S, McKinney DC, Loucks DP (2011) Sustainability index for water resources planning and management .Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management 137(5):381-390
Sun S, Wang Y, Liu J, Cai H, Wu P, Geng Q, Xu L (2016) Sustainability assessment of regional water resources under the DHSIR framework. Journal of Hydrology, 532, 140-148
TCEQ–Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (2007) Water availability. Technical Report
Vigerstøl KL (2003) Drought management in Mexico's Rio Bravo basin, Doctoral Dissertation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
 
Iran-Water Resources Research
Volume 12, Issue 4 - Serial Number 38
Special Issue on the 6th National Conference on Water Resources Management
February 2017
Pages 1-11

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 04 November 2016
  • Revise Date: 22 January 2017
  • Accept Date: 28 January 2017

Share

How to cite

Statistics