Investigation of Administrative-Institutional System of Water Management in the Zayandehrud Basin Using Qualitative Method of Grounded Theory

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD Candidate, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Isfahan University of Tech., Isfahan, Iran

2 Prof., Dept. of Civil Engineering, Isfahan University of Tech., Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

Increasing water demand in agricultural, urban and industrial sectors and decreasing water resources due to climate change cause serious restrictions in traditional manners of water management especially in arid and semi-arid regions including Central Plateau of Iran. In order to manage water resources effectively, it is essential to consider the socio-economic system and administrative-institutional system, in addition to the natural system. This study aims to investigate the administrative-institutional system of water management in Zayandehrud basin. Quantitative methods are generally used to study water resource systems, but these methods face some challenges such as: the lack of sufficient data, the weakness of the quantitative models in adapting to human systems, and the inability to provide a general picture of the problem; therefore, it is essential to use Qualitative methods along with quantitative methods for understanding these systems. The present study tries to understand the most important problems of the administrative-institution of water management system in the Zayandehrud basin using the grounded theory as a systematic qualitative method. The results of this study indicate that the incomplete and misleading information, different understanding of issues, ineffective meetings, conflict of interest, lack of coordination and conflict between organizations, corruptor structure, and weak regulatory system are the cause of the ineffectiveness of the current administrative structure. The main causes of these problems are the lack of transparency and non-participatory management. These factors, along with the lack of a deterrent mechanism, have led to excessive water allocation and unauthorized exploitation. According to recent data from the past 20 years, the average annual renewable water including water transferred into the basin has been about 2500 MCM while the average annual water consumption has been about 2770 MCM and resulted in a cumulative decrease of 4900 MCM non-renewable water storage. In this paper, only quantitative method of the grounded theory is considered and it is necessary to use a quantitative method in the future to accurately assess the importance of the factors driving the instability of water resources in the Zayandehrud river basin.

Keywords

References

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Journal of Water and Wastewater; Ab va Fazilab ( in persian )
Volume 30, Issue 6 - Serial Number 124
November and December 2019
Pages 1-17

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