Application of Hydro-Economic Model in Integrated Water Resources Management of West Jazmourian Basin

Lack of water and its growing demand has created competition for the use of this valuable substance; therefore, planning should be done on how to allocate it among different economic sectors. The goal of water allocation among different users is to maximize the social benefits of water consumption. The current study seeks to maximize the benefits of water use by providing a hydro-economic structure in the West Jazmourian Basin.
To this end, the objective function is to maximize the benefits of water consumption in agriculture, urban and environmental sectors subject to hydrological, agricultural and institutional restrictions.
The results showed that by changing the pattern of cultivation and irrigation technology, it is possible to increase the benefit in the agricultural sector up to 44; whereas water consumption in this sector is reduced by 11%. In addition, taking into account the environmental sector in the integrated water resources management program and allocating water to Jazmourian wetland, a profit of 56260 million Rials will be obtained.
Based on the results, if the cropping pattern and irrigation strategies suggested by the model are applied, there would be a possibility of increasing profit along with reducing water consumption in the agricultural sector, and the saved water can be used in other competing sectors and create benefits, or it reduces the consumption of ground water, which helps the sustainability of water resources.