Groundwater Resources Drawdown and Its Effect on the Physical Structure of Rural Areas: A Case Study of Rural Settlements of Lordegan

The increasing human need for water, on the one hand, and its scarcity, on the other, have increased the exploitation of this vital resource. Today, with more attention to groundwater resources and the vertical movement of these reservoirs to deeper layers, numerous problems are threatening life in rural habitats. The main purpose of the present study is to identify the causes of groundwater resource drawdown and its effect on the physical structure of rural areas. Crucially, it has doubled as population growth and demand increase to meet the needs of rural communities, excessive exploitation and pressure on these vital reserves. Documentary analysis and field study were used to collect the required data. The statistical population of the study included 89831 people in the rural population of Lordegan, out of which 115 were selected by purposive sampling method using the G-Power software. The data were analyzed by descriptive-analytical and causal-comparative methods on the SPSS and GIS software programs. The findings showed that increasing number of farmers, expanding irrigated areas and drilling deep wells during the period 1961-2016 are correlated with unnecessary exploitation and drop in groundwater level in the research area. The results further showed that the fragmentation of agricultural parts, granting permits for digging and breaking wells and the prevalence of aquacultural crops in interaction with population growth were the most important factors for double harvesting and reduction of groundwater levels to -22 meters in the plains. It has manifested itself in the form of the disappearance of wetlands and pastures, land subsidence of 85 cm, deep divisions in settlements and farms, changes in the appearance of plains, and, ultimately, the instability of rural settlements.