The Study of the Effects of Restoration and Resilience Plan on Groundwater of Qaleh Tol Plain, North East Khuzestan

The restoration and resilience project with the aim of compensating for the reservoir deficit and preventing the decline of the aquifers is being developed by the Ministry of Energy with various projects and is being implemented throughout Iran. The implementation of restoration and resilience projects in the forbidden plain of Qaleh Tol, northeast of Khuzestan, has started since 2017. The evaluation of the implemented plans, saving 1.7 million cubic meters per year (about 14% reduction in the exploitation of groundwater) has been done by comparing the fluctuations of the groundwater level of the plain before and after the implementation of the plan. The results showed that the amount of changes in the reservoir level and the volume of Qaleh Tol aquifer in the water year 2021-2022, which is in the dry period along with the implementation of restoration and balancing projects in the region, is positive and equal to 0.41 meters and 1.8 million cubic meters, respectively. Based on this, while during the drought period of 2021-2022, most of the plains of Khuzestan province have faced a drop in the reservoir level and reservoir deficit, however, the groundwater level has risen in Qaleh Tol plain, which can be due to the positive effects of the implementation of the projects. Due to the intermittent years with more rainfall than normal and drought, it is not possible to comment with certainty regarding the effects of project implementation on the aquifer balance, and the clear role of the effect on the representative hydrograph is not certain due to the short-term fluctuations of water level changes.