QANAT'S ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN ARID AND SEMI-ARID AREAS

Today, Environmental problems are considered as one of the most important challenges for industrial projects that are harmful for the life of plants and animals. There has been a lot of attempt to decrease the negative impact of operating and maintenance projects and to avoid running conducting projects with high negative impact. This study is an attempt to analyze the effects of qanat - a technique exploiting groundwater used in Iran and most of Middle Eastern countries - on the environment. Hydrology, pollution, ecology and socio-economical challenges are important parameters in environmental assessment. Because of simplicity and applicability, checklist method was selected for assessing the environmental effect of qanats. In this method of assessment, extended domain of design parameters are considered too. The result obtained from this assessment and data analysis, indicate that qanat has positive environmental effect on soil sediment, soil erosion, ecology and social economy, including income, resettlement and user contribution. The result of the study shows that the only negative effect of qanat on environment is water pollution, especially with toxic substances, chemical fertilizers and waste water.