Developing a surface water resources allocation model under risk conditions with a multi-objective optimization approach

Abstract

Abstract One of the major socioeconomic and global sustainability issues is water scarcity, which imperils human survival and regional development. The current study aims to develop a model for allocating water resources more efficiently and equitably. In this regard, a multi-objective programming approach was developed with the first objective of equality of water resource allocation to be maximized, and the second objective of risk to be minimized. The risk considered in this study was the economic efficiency loss risk. For the annual water allocation model, the fluctuation in available water within the river basin is the main source of uncertainty and can result in the corresponding risk of economic efficiency loss. Thus, it is essential to manage the economic efficiency loss risk resulting from uncertainty. To solve the model, the compromise programming (CP) method was used. A sustainability index was also employed to determine the objective function weights. The developed model was applied to the Givi River basin in Iran. From the results, it was found that using the sustainability index is a suitable strategy in the CP method for determining the objective function weights. The results showed that the proposed model can be helpful in water management to allocate water resources.