Journal of Water and Sustainable Development

Abstract Editorial:
Evaluating changes in water consumption in the "planting one billion trees" project with "green and blue water accounting" modeling
Saeed Morid/ member of the editorial board
Short note:
The necessity of developing a road map in the development of integrated monitoring and information processing systems in the field of water resources management
Ali Shahbazi/ Vice President of Comprehensive Water Resources Studies, Khuzestan Water and Electricity Authority

Abstract At the downstream end of the large dam spillways, the plunge pool is used for energy dissipation due to the flow. This type of structure has a scouring hole downstream of the dam, which needs to be explored for the issue. The present research work aimed to examine the performance of the support vector machine (SVM) method as one of the familiar soft computing techniques used for estimating the scouring depth of symmetrical crossing jets of a plunge pool. Firstly, an appropriate percentage run and Kernel of the SVM were determined by using laboratory data. Then, the parameters involved the scouring depth including Dencimetric Froude Number, Tailwater Depth, vertical jet angle, angle of the impact point of the jet, and the relative distance between of impact of the jet up to the water surface (Fr_d90 ،T_w ،α_v ،α_c ،δ), were divided into different models and the runs were performed. Numerical values of the evaluation criteria as R, RMSE, and NRMSE related to the test stage results for the best model to estimate the scouring depth were found as 0.9563, 0.688 and 18.47%, respectively. The results of this model confirm the acceptable performance of the SVM for estimating the scouring depth studied in present work. To find a best model, the results of sensitivity analysis reveals that the parameters T_w and α_v have the highest and lowest effects on the accuracy amount of estimation for scouring depth, respectively.

Abstract Supplying fresh water is one of the issues of humanity today and among the concerns of the United Nations and the FAO. Due to sudden changes in freshwater supply and demand patterns in the current world, its supply management is followed as a challenge. The purpose of this research is to design a conceptual model and structuring of fresh water supply chain using the combined approach of soft systems methodology and structural equation modeling. By conducting an open interview and posing a single and comprehensive question to 20 active experts and experts in a snowball manner, and then the role of researchers in system placement, the model will be presented. Qualitative model extraction was done with the SSM method and then in the quantitative part, the factors involved and identified by this method were measured in the form of hypothesis generation by researchers and their testing in PLS-SMART software, the findings showed that if the fresh water supply chain is considered as a system, The input and supply of this high-quality water system, rain and flood; disruption in the processing and analysis of this stakeholder tapping system; control for culturalization as an influencing and modulating factor of this system; Multiple weather, policy instability, natural disasters as environmental and political factors; The policy of order and quantity consumption and quality control to shape the cultural control; disturbing demand and output in this logistics distribution system are water wastage and prediction of wrong consumption and tax evasion and finally the optimal achievements of the water footprint identification model, analysis of water sustainability issues and water shortage control.

Abstract With the increase in climate and social change, the issue of water security in cities is becoming more highlighted and urban decision makers are paying attention to issues such as water productivity and reuse of sewage to achieve sustainable municipal water management. In this study, a framework of urban water metabolism was developed based on the water balance. The water flow patterns in the urban areas examined and the performance of water management in Isfahan was evaluated. In this article, previous equations of urban water metabolism reviewed and new relationships were defined by adding parameters such as Non-revenue water, taking into account the conditions of urban water management in developing countries such as Iran. The developed water metabolism model was first used on Isfahan city as a real sample for 2019 and the pattern of water use and urban water performance of Isfahan were analyzed. The city of Isfahan is largely dependent on surface water (water of the Zayandeh-Rud Dam and River), While having a lot of domestic consumer, it has a high potential in terms of gray water and treated wastewater. Studies showed that more than 80% of Isfahan's water requirement is provided from foreign sources, and this indicates that Isfahan's sustainable water supply is weak and there is severe dependence on the surrounding areas for water supply. These results show that the water metabolism framework helps to facilitate more comprehensive understanding and evaluations of city water performance.

Abstract The use of accurate and continuous data series is a necessary condition for most statistical and hydrological studies. Due to the importance of precipitation as one of the most important climatic and hydrological variables, in the present study, in order to predict the daily precipitation of Tabriz, Copula functions were used and the results were compared with intelligent methods and classical statistics. To predict precipitation in Tabriz station, precipitation data of Sarab, Sahand, and Maragheh stations were also used as auxiliary stations. Based on the obtained results, among all the methods studied, the M5 method with RMSE values of 3.14 mm, and the MAD method with 2.13 mm and the RF method with RMSE values of 5.18 mm and MAD 3.04 mm have the highest and lowest accuracy in estimating precipitation events, respectively. Among Archimedean copulas, the RMSE and MAD values for the Gambel function are 3.89 and 2.51 mm, respectively. Despite the range of estimation data is still very close to other methods, considering the capabilities of Copula functions, including the ability to apply multiple conditions and its probabilistic nature, which considers the behavior of the phenomenon, it can be acknowledged that in similar circumstances, the ability of Copula functions to estimate the missing data of phenomena such as rainfall is acceptable.

Abstract The ecosystem-based approach has been accepted in Iran as a holistic way of wetlands management which is based on public participation and collaboration among different stakeholders that can affect and are impacted by wetlands basin. Surveys on the level of communication and interactions among these stakeholders have gotten very little attention in the existing literature, yet, are necessary and crucial for understanding the current situation of the region. This study aims to identify the key stakeholders and the level of their participation and cooperation in the sustainable use of satellite wetlands in the southern Urmia lake basin. For this purpose, after identifying the key stakeholders using the snowball sampling method and interviewing the stakeholders and activists effective on the protection and restoration of the wetland, the data was collected using interview tools and questionnaires, and the cooperation network matrix was formed. Then, the data was analyzed in UCINET software using the indices of in-degree, out-degree and betweenness centrality. The results of the research show that governmental organizations such as jahade keshavarzi, regional water company and urban water and sewage compared to other stakeholders, it has the most control and power in the organizational cooperation network and in contrast to civil society organizations, such as non-governmental organizations, farmers' organizations have the lowest in-degree centrality. Improper power and influence of NGOs and the local community in the stakeholder collaboration network could be a symptom of the dominant centralized, top-down, and hierarchical planning system in the watershed and wetlands resource management in this region.

Abstract Water consumption grew twice as fast as the global population last century, and an increasing number of regions around the world are facing or will face, water scarcity. Access to water has been recognized as a major threat to world peace in the present century, and ethical issues related to water have been given high priority. Using a systematic review method, this paper examines the three fundamental perspectives of deontology, consequentialism, and virtue ethics in environmental philosophy and their implications for water management and policy-making. Each of the three perspectives has led to the emergence of different ethical approaches to water, but what is clear is that in all three perspectives anthropocentric view has prevailed and moral considerations about non-humans have received less attention. In addition, ethical approaches to water face weaknesses, and water management requires an integrated and holistic approach that integrates humans and aquatic ecosystems and avoids unilateralism.

Abstract In recent decades, the crisis of environmental degradation has become widespread and has caused concerns. Since this crisis is the consequence of an intellectual and moral crisis, it must be considered independently of the technical and engineering aspects. While analyzing different human-nature interactions and the views of current thinkers on nature, in this research, an attempt has been made to analyze the ethical roots of the environmental crisis by presenting a conceptual model. Environmental crises are exacerbated by attitudes that, while emphasizing humanism, see nature as an inanimate and unconscious object that has no benefit other than mere matter. The conceptual model enlightens that in the face of the negative impact that the weakness of the creation worldview, self-centeredness, and other species aversion have on the universe, the "cosmopolitan ecocentrism" attitude has been developed due to the positive effect of the universe on the environmental crises. As a result, environmental ethics is solely comprehensive ethics; That is, while considering other cultures, species, and habitats, it is cosmopolitan. In other words, environmental ethics is universal, so it must be a fundamental approach to ethics. Since ethics is a way of life, ecological ethics is the universal way of life, the most ethics. Therefore, if we want to know why we have inherited this great amount of environmental degradation, we must be aware of the details of anthropocentric ethics and compare it with environmental ethics. Environmental ethics, or more accurately, ecological ethics, is the most cosmopolitan way of life and universal ethics.

Abstract One of the effective methods in the development of water desalination is the use of solar energy, which uses the main principles of water evaporation and distillation. Brine water enters the pan of the machine, and is then heated and evaporated by sunlight, additives and even some microbes that are separated from the water molecules during evaporation and remain in the pan. The production of pure water and no need for conventional energy sources are the advantages of this method. In this research, the effect of polyethylene absorbents with a thickness of one centimeter, and black glass on the bottom of the tanks; The depth and electrical conductivity of water were evaluated based on the volume changes of distilled water. For this purpose, in August 2018, in the Faculty of Water and Environmental Engineering of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, four solar still tanks were installed in two directions, north-south and south-north, on the roof of the distillery irrigation greenhouse. Experiments were conducted in three weeks with four treatments. (1- Tanks without polyethylene absorbent, and the water depth in them is two centimeters; 2- Tanks with polyethylene absorbent, and the water depth in them is two centimeters; 3- Tanks containing polyethylene absorbent and the water depth in them is two and four centimeters, north to south; each repetition in one week) the electrical conductivity in the tanks was 10 and 20 dS/m. The results showed that in north-south reservoirs, increasing the depth of saline water from 2 to 4 cm increased the amount of water production by 65%; Also, in this direction, tanks containing water with higher electrical conductivity caused an increase in the amount of distilled water production up to 5%, in the south-north tanks in the first week of measurement, the amount of production in a tank with electrical conductivity of 10 dS/m (tank number two) It was more than 2 liters. Finally, due to the stability of other factors involved, the difference in the total volume of produced water between the presence and absence of polyethylene absorbent in the North-South reservoirs is 22%, and for the South-North reservoirs, this difference reached 84%. The optimal conditions for water production were the presence of polyethylene absorbent, and greater water depth.

Abstract The agricultural sector is the most key sector that has a strong historical and social connection with water. Water is one of the greatest challenges of the present century. The inherent limitation of water resources is one of the most important challenges in the water sector. The current research was also conducted to investigate the sustainability of water consumption in Gachsaran citrus orchards. The research tool is a researcher-made questionnaire that includes sustainability, social, institutional, physical, knowledge, and attitudinal management. Data analysis was done with SPSS software. The statistical population of the present study is 300 citrus growers of Gachsaran. 169 people were selected as a sample using simple random sampling. The results of the correlation test showed that there is a significant and moderate relationship between the sustainable management of water consumption and the knowledge factor. But the relationship between sustainable management of water consumption and physical, social, attitude and institutional factors is significant and weak. Also, the variables included in the regression analysis explained a total of 29% of the influencing factors on the sustainability variable of water consumption management. Most of the gardeners used animal manure, which leads to water storage and increased moisture retention. But the long-term use of chemical fertilizers can lead to soil destruction and groundwater pollution.

Abstract The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) is a three-bill package that passed the California state legislature and was signed into California state law by Governor Jerry Brown in September 2014. Its purpose is to ensure better local and regional management of groundwater use and it seeks to have a sustainable groundwater management in California by 2042.This law, developed the six sustainable management criteria to achieve groundwater sustainability, and this report introduces these criteria. It also characterizes the relationship between the different sustainable management criteria – the sustainability goal, undesirable results, minimum thresholds, and measurable objectives as an important part to develop a Groundwater Sustainable Plan (GSP).

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