The water crisis in Gavkhoni watershed and how to adapt it through the establishment of a comprehensive water pricing system (Case Study: The last water supply facility - Koohrang 3rd dam and tunnel)

The water crisis is one of the most important global issues in the South West Asia region. Iran as a dry country in this region has many challenges in this area. Isfahan province is one of the driest provinces in Iran, which needs high water for industrial and agriculture centers. Due to excessive consumption of water from the Zayandeh River, the water bill has been negated. The aim of this study was to control and balance the amount of water in the river through the establishment of a comprehensive water pricing system as an instrument of demand management in the Gavkhooni basin. Accordingly, first the actual rate price per cubic meter of water was calculated as the cost price per cubic meter of extracted water in two newly operational facilities, one for supplying the river water of Koohrang storage dam and the other for third tunnel of Koohrang In the form of the price paid per cubic meter of extracted water. Then the original cost estimate of water was compared with the prices set by the Ministry of Energy. The research methodology is according to using a cost "net present value" and Based on Based on the relationships existing in the economics of engineering science and the ratio of benefits to costs equals one. After final calculations in dam and tunnel sector, the calculated cost price of water was 10298 Rials. As a result, a large gap between the actual cost and tariffs issued by the Ministry of Energy is observed. Also, the calculations showed that there is no correlation between price paid by consumers for water supply and water price, as well as the economic break-even point in terms of water consumption tracks to zero.