Optimization of Regional Water Resources Allocation in Sefidroud River Basin by Social Equity Approach

Increasing water demands and insufficient water resources has became the main reasons of raising water conflicts among stakeholders in Sefidroud basin. Sustainable allocation of water resources with viewpoint of economic efficiency and social equity is necessary to reduce these conflicts. Hence, they was assessed in Sefidroud basin, Iran. Sustainability of water allocation as the model constraint guarantees the minimum environmental requirements in water resource planning. In this study, a multi-objective programming model was developed to supply the requirements of the environmental, industrial and agricultural sectors in Sefidroud basin. The objects of the model were the maximizing of the economic benefit efficiency for the development of improved water allocation strategies as well the maximizing of the water allocation equity (measured by using of the Gini coefficient). NSGA-II algorithm was used to solve the developed multi-objective programming model. The best solution among pareto front was selected according to equilibrium viewpoint because of considering economic efficiency and social equity among stakeholders simultaneously. Additionally, two scenarios were defined in term of the rate of water loss and available water to assess the developed multi-objective programming model. The results showed that river basin authorities should decrease the rate of water loss and increase the available water to improve water allocation efficiency and equity. Additionally, the decrease in available water had highest impact on water allocation equity, but it had least impact on economic benefit efficiency. Furthermore, it should be considered for implementing water-saving policies according to critical conditions of water resources.