Iran-Water Resources Research

Iran-Water Resources Research

Assessing the Sustainability of Surface and Groundwater Resources in the Zayandehrood Basin

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran
2 Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran.
Abstract
In this study, the sustainability status of surface and groundwater resources in the Zayandehrood River Basin was evaluated using the Multivariate Water Resources Index (MWRI). This index integrates three key parameters—average precipitation, available surface water volume, and exploitable groundwater volume—calculated through the entropy weighting method. To provide a more detailed analysis of sustainability, three functional components of the system reliability, reversibility, and vulnerability were calculated for each sub-basin, from which the initial sustainability index was derived. The novelty of this research lies in the incorporation of the temporal trend of the water resources index, assessed using the Mann-Kendall test, into the base sustainability model, leading to the development of a modified sustainability index. Utilizing 20 years of data on precipitation, surface flow volume, and groundwater level fluctuations, a composite water resources sustainability index was formulated. The analysis included five sub-basins: Buein-Miandasht (upstream of the dam) and four downstream sub-basins Lenjanat, Najafabad, Esfahan-Borkhar, and Kuhpayeh-Segzi. Results indicated that only the Buein-Miandasht sub-basin, with a modified sustainability index of 0.31, is in an acceptable condition, while the other sub-basins demonstrated critically low values (less than 0.001), indicating unsustainable conditions. These findings are consistent with field observations and the significant reduction in water resources downstream of the Zayandehrood Dam, underscoring the urgent need for a revision in regional water resource management strategies. The application of the MWRI in this study provides an effective framework for the integrated assessment of water resource sustainability at the basin level.
Keywords
Subjects

Ajami NK, Hornberger GM, Sunding DL (2008) Sustainable water resource management under hydrological uncertainty. Water Resources Research 44(11):1–10
Ashofteh PS, Bozorg Haddad O, Akbari-Alashti H, Mariño MA (2014) Determination of irrigation allocation policy under climate change by genetic programming. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering 141(4):04014059
Ashoori N, Dzombak DA, Small MJ (2015) Sustainability review of water-supply options in the Los Angeles region. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management 141(12):4015005
Borghi AD, Strazza C, Gallo M, Messineo S, Naso M (2013) Water supply and sustainability: life cycle assessment of water collection, treatment and distribution service. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 18:1158–1168
Brown CM, Lund JR, Cai X, Reed PM, Zagona EA, Ostfeld A, Hall J, Characklis GW, Yu W, Brekke L (2015) The future of water resources systems analysis: Toward a scientific framework for sustainable water management. Water Resources Research 51:6110–6124
Cai X, McKinney DC, Lasdon LS (2002) A framework for sustainability analysis in water resources management and application to the Syr Darya Basin. Water Resources Research 38(6):1–21
Cao G, Zheng C, Scanlon BR, Liu J, Li W (2013) Use of flow modelling to assess sustainability of groundwater resources in the North China Plain. Water Resources Research 49:159–175
Collet L, Ruelland D, Estupina VB, Dezetter A, Servat E (2015) Water supply sustainability and adaptation strategies under anthropogenic and climatic changes of a meso-scale Mediterranean catchment. Science of the Total Environment 536:589–602
Fogg GE, LaBolle EM (2006) Motivation of synthesis, with an example on groundwater quality sustainability. Water Resources Research 42(3):1–5
Folke C (2006) Resilience: The emergence of a perspective for social–ecological systems analyses. Global Environmental Change 16(3):253–267
Fowler HJ, Kilsby CG, O’Connell PE (2003) Modelling the impacts of climatic change and variability on the reliability, resilience, and vulnerability of a water resource system. Water Resources Research 39(8):1222
Hashimoto T, Stedinger JR, Loucks DP (1982) Reliability, resiliency, and vulnerability criteria for water resource system performance evaluation. Water Resources Research 18(1):14–20
Hatfield JL, Prueger JH (2010) Value of using different vegetative indices to quantify agricultural crop characteristics at different growth stages under varying management practices. Remote Sensing 2(2):562–578
IPCC (Intergovernmental panel on climate change, summary for policymakers in climate change) 2007: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability, Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change., Parry M L, Canziani O F, Palutikof J P, van der Linden P J, Hanson C E, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Ishak EH, Rahman A, Westra S, Sharma A, Kuczera G (2013) Evaluating the non-stationarity of Australian annual maximum flood. Journal of Hydrology 494(28):134-145
Karamouz M, Mohammadpour P, Mahmoodzadeh D (2017) Assessment of sustainability in water supply-demand considering uncertainties. Water Resources Management 31:3761–3778
Kendall MG, (1975) Correlation Methods. Griffin, London, UK.
Khoshoei M, Safavi HR (2023) Developing the drought index in natural and engineering sub-basins (Case Study: Zayandehrood Basin). Iran-Water Resources Research 19(4):48-61 (In Persian)
Klemes V, Srikanthan R, McMahon TA (1981) Long-memory flow models in reservoir analysis: What is their practical value? Water Resources Research 17(3):737–751
Kulkarni A, Von Storch H (1995) Monte Carlo experiments on the effect of serial correlation on the Mann-Kendall test of trend. Meteorologische Zeitschrift 4(2):82–85
Kundzewicz ZW (1997) Water resources for sustainable development. Hydrological Sciences Journal 42(4):467–480
Lane BA, Sandoval-Solis S, Porse EC (2014) Environmental flows in a human-dominated system: integrated water management strategies for the Rio Grande/Bravo basin. River Research and Applications 31(9):1053–1065
Leite F B V D M, Bertolo LS, Santos RF (2016) Practices and perceptions on water resource sustainability in ecovillages. Water Resources Research 52(8):6004–6017
Loucks DP (1994) Sustainability implications for water resources planning and management. Natural Resources Forum 18(4):263-274
Loucks DP (1997) Quantifying trends in system sustainability. Hydrological Sciences-Journal-des Sciences Hydrologiques 42(4):513–530 
 Loucks DP, Gladwell J S (1999) Sustainability criteria for water resources systems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Loucks DP (2000) Sustainable water resources management. Water International 25(1):3-10
Loucks DP, van Beek E (2005) Water resources systems planning and management, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Paris, France
Loucks DP, van Beek E (2017) Water resource systems planning and management: An introduction to methods. Models and Applications. Springer
MacEwan D, Cayar M, Taghavi A, Mitchell D, Hatchett S, Howitt R (2017) Hydroeconomic modeling of sustainable groundwater management. Water Resources Research 53(3):2384–2403
Mann HB (1945) Nonparametric tests against trend. Econometrica 13(3):245–259
Mays LW, (2006) Water Resurces Sustainability. McGrow-Hill Professional 
Moy WS, Cohon JL, Revelle CS (1986) A programming model for analysis of reliability, resilience and vulnerability of a water supply reservoir. Journal of Water Resources Research 22(4):2135–2141
McMahon TA, Adebayo J, Sen-Lin Z (2006) Understanding performance measures of reservoirs. Journal of Hydrology 324(1):359–382
Mendoza VM, Villanuave EE, Adem J (1997) Vulnerability of basins and watersheds in Mexico to global climate change. Climate Research Journal 9(1):139-145
National Research Council (1999) Our common journey: A transition toward sustainability. Washington, DC: National Academy Press
Raju KS, Duckstein L, Arondel C (2000) Multicriterion analysis for sustainable water resources planning: A case study in Spain. Water Resources Management 14:435–456
Richter BD, Mathews R, Harrison DL, Wigington R (2003) Ecologically sustainable water management: Managing River flows for ecological integrity. Ecological Applications 13(1):206–224
Rouse JW, Hass RH, Deering DW, Shehell JA (1974) Monitoring the vernal advancement and retro gradation (Green wave effect) of natural vegetation. Final Rep, Rsc: 1978-4, Remote Sensing Center, Texas A & M University, College Station
Safavi HR, Golmohammadi MH, Sandoval-Solis S (2016) Scenario analysis for integrated water resources planning and management under uncertainty in the Zayandehrud river basin. Journal of Hydrology 539:625-639
Sampson DA, Quay R, White DD (2016) Anticipatory modelling for water supply sustainability in Phoenix, Arizona. Environmental Science and Policy 55(1):36–46 
Sandoval-Solis S, McKinney DC, Loucks DP (2011) Sustainability index for water resources planning and management. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management 137(5):381-390
Sophocleous M (2000) From safe yield to sustainable development of water resources the Kansas experience. Journal of Hydrology 235(1-2):27–43
Staben N, Hein A, Kluge T (2010) Measuring sustainability of water supply: Performance indicators and their application in a corporate responsibility report. Water Science and Technology: Water Supply 10(5):824–830
Von Storch H (1995) Misuses of statistical analysis in climate research. In: analysis of climate variability: Applications of statistical techniques (ed. by H. von Storch & A. Navarra), 11–26, Springer-Vorlage, Berlin, Germany.
WCED (World Commission on Environment and Development) (1987) Our Common Future. Oxford University Press
WHO-World Health Organization (2009) Summary and policy implications Vision 2030: The resilience of water supply and sanitation in the face of climate change. 2030
Yue SH, Pilon P, Phinney B (2003) Canadian streamflow trend detection: Impacts of serial and cross-correlation. Hydrological Science 48(1):51-63

  • Receive Date 04 May 2025
  • Revise Date 02 September 2025
  • Accept Date 09 September 2025