The Potential for Allocating Water Resources to Aquaculture from an Unaccounted Water Budget

This research, based on the belief that modern aquaculture technologies in the form of intensive and super-intensive aquaculture methods can use water resources of low quality, aims to focus on saving freshwater resources. By introducing an intelligent algorithm, the areas suitable for allocating water to aquaculture in Khuzestan province were identified and mapped in GIS. Using the IRWQIsc method, water quality was firstly evaluated in terms of ecological health and general use and then based on the criteria of water quality for drinking, agriculture and industrial use the potential areas were investigated. The results showed that except Dez River, up to 35% of the available water in other Khuzestan rivers can be allocated to the aquaculture sector on average. The suitable parts of the four other rivers are generally located in the lower parts of the basins. The achievements allow decision-makers to redistribute the dense aquaculture farms, mostly located in the upper and middle parts of the rivers, and to reduce the high pressure on those parts of the rivers, especially on Karun River. Regarding both factors of quality and critical condition of the water table, just 3 out of 23 aquifers of the Khuzestan province were recommended for aquaculture development. The proposed algorithm and the assumptions used in its development, presented for the first time, have the capability of being generalized for use in any other catchment and provide the necessary tools for large-scale negotiation to obtain optimum aquaculture allocation.