The role of water resources in the sustainability of villages in Zanjan province

Wherever water and water resources have existed since time immemorial; It was the starting point for the gathering of human beings and the formation of settlements on the site. Zanjan province is no exception to this rule, people gathered and settled next to this life-giving substance. therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the role of water resources on the sustainability of villages in Zanjan province and to create criteria for reasonable use of this vital resource to maintain sustainability. this research is of practical type and the method of descriptive-analytical research and the method of data collection is documentary and field. the statistical population of the study is rural settlements of Zanjan province, but at the request of the supervisor of Zanjan region, including cities (Zanjan, Mahneshan, Ijroud, Tarom) were studied, using Cochran's formula, 384 people were selected as a statistical sample. The reliability of the questionnaire was determined using Cronbach's alpha of 0.75. which indicates the desirability of the research tool. research findings show that the greatest impact of water resources in different dimensions of rural sustainability had biodiversity with beta (0.366) and physical with (0.328) and economic dimension with beta (0.267), respectively. Also, all dimensions of stability (economic, social, environmental, physical diversity) with a significance level of 0.000 show that there is a significant, positive and direct relationship between water resources and the sustainability of rural settlements in Zanjan province with 0.99 reliability coefficient. therefore, due to climate change and declining groundwater levels in the study area, proposals such as a fundamental review of policies, serious monitoring of wells, control and prevention of surface water outflow from the region is essential for the development and sustainability rural settlements the province.