Zoning and the investigation of hazards of water resources excessive consumption (Case study: Sarayan Plain)

Groundwater resources provide a large portion of the water used to irrigate farming lands. Therefore, one should adopt appropriate management strategies for utilizing these resources. This research investigates, both qualitatively and quantitatively, an acquirer using IDW interpolation technique, as implemented in ArcGIS 10.2 Software, so as to evaluate consequences of unleashed withdrawal of groundwater across Sarayan Plain. To this end, a total of 30 wellbores were studied and water withdrawal data during 2012-2016, water table level drop data during 1986-2017, and qualitative data during 2008-2016 were considered. Results of the present research indicated that, the rate of withdrawal from the wells in 2012 was larger than that in 2014 and minimal in 2016 when most of the wells within the studied watershed had their water withdrawal rates decreased from 24 L/s to as low as 9 L/s. Moreover, during the 31-year period studied herein, the water table level was found to go deeper by 20 m. The results further indicated that, during the studied period, the quality of groundwater across the plain decreased significantly, leading to degraded yield of the corps across the region.