DEVELOPMENT OF A MASTER PLAN FOR RIVER WATER POLLUTION CONTROL: A CASE STUDY OF KAROON - DEZ RIVER SYSTEM

Excessive water withdrawal from the rivers due to growing population, agricultural and industrial development, along with increase in the wastewater discharge to this systems, have intensified the need for integrated planning for water pollution control in river systems. In this paper, a framework of a master plan for water pollution control in the river systems and the results of a case study for developing a master plan for Karoon River water pollution control in Khuzestan Province in Iran are presented. The main pollution sources in the domestic, industrial, agricultural and agro-industrial sectors are identified and the effects of these pollution sources on the river water quality are investigated using the water quality simulation model. A Multiple-Criterion-Decision-Making (MCDM) technique, namely Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used in order to determine the share of different sectors in polluting the water resources. Data deficiency and the relative weights of different water quality variables are determined using engineering judgments and the information gathered from brain storming sessions with experts, the agencies' officials, and the stakeholders of the system. Based on this study, specific major categories of water pollution reduction projects were defined and in each category, several projects were identified. The effectiveness of the proposed water pollution control projects is also assessed using the MCDM method and water quality simulation model. The total cost of implementation of the projects was also estimated and the projects were prioritized based on their potential impact on water pollution control. The results of this study show that the proposed methodology is of a significant in developing the master plans for river systems.