Water resource management in the intermountain Izeh Plain, Southwest of Iran

Ever growing demand for water for agricultural activities in the Izeh Plain has enhanced the use of groundwater. Due to enormous groundwater abstraction since 1985, the overall static water level has receded by more than 5 meters reflecting that the aquifer is under stress condition. As a result, interest is focused on application of artificial recharge as an option for groundwater management to augment water supply in this area. Therefore, in the present investigations, suitable sites for artificial recharge were selected by an integrated surface and sub-surface assessment of the area. On the basis of the data collected from four target points, it was realized that the selected sites for artificial recharge could not meet water demand of the area. In this study attention was also paid to utilization of the existing Miangran Lake water as an alternative to combat water shortage for irrigation. The study further indicated that the available Miangran Lake water could be used for irrigation of the reclaimed agricultural land and enabling to convert 2000 hectares of rain-fed land into irrigation. The total cost to utilize lake water is USS 9,756,729 and it was estimated that the project could recoup the investment within 5 years which is quite reasonable in this water scarcity prone area.