Assessing Economic Efficiency of Water Resources Development Plans in Zohreh River Basin

This paper reviews the recent achievements in the study of water resources development, discussing the characteristics of water resources system of the Zohreh river basin in the south of Iran, emphasizing the importance of IWRM approach. The IWRM at the basin level has multi-disciplinary aspects which are fundamental basis for water resource allocation at national level and at economic sector level. Priorities should be given to the entire hydrological system, so as to firstly optimize the water resource utilization and management at basin level. Based upon the priority principle, decision makers (administration in each province in the basin) and water-users may find the common guide-lines, goals and detailed measures through discussions and negotiations. To achieve this goal, an integrated water resources assessment model has been developed for the Zohreh River Basin using WEAP software which incorporates all important water users and reservoirs within the basin. Measures to meet the growing water demand in the catchment are discussed and several scenarios including both resource and demand oriented solutions are identified and modeled based on system specifications and compared in terms of the economic efficiency criteria. This study provides useful suggestions for water resources development in the Zohreh river basin

کلیدواژه ها:

1- Integrated Water Resources Management ، 2- Water Resources Planning ، 3- WEAP Model ، 4- Economic Evaluation ، 5- Zohreh Basin