Location of well drilling using PSO and AHP algorithms ( Case Study: Mashhad plain)

Determining the optimal number of required wells and pumping flow and selecting the place of drilling wells to meet the water needs of different uses is one of the important issues of water resources management in arid and semi-arid regions.The results showed that changing the coordinates of wells due to the variable thickness of the aquifer and also different water quality in different areas, will affect the cost of extraction and water treatment, respectively, and on the other hand, the distance from the place of consumption will increase the cost of transmission Changing the pumping flow of wells will also affect the energy consumption of the pump in the process of water extraction and transfer. Based on the results, the cost of the optimal design has been reduced by about 10% compared to the existing design. The results showed that water level drop and groundwater quality had the highest weight coefficient.Also, the areas that had the most drop, the best water quality, the shortest distance and the lowest height to the place of consumption, had the highest weight coefficient and the areas that had the lowest drop, The average annual drop in water level in this area varies from 1.13 to 0.3 meters. There are 422 deep wells in this area, about 60 of which have a discharge of more than 20 liters per second and are a good option for replacing the city's drinking water supply wells.