10.57647/AP.2026.1001.10

Scenario-Based Conjunctive Management of Surface Water, Groundwater and Reclaimed Wastewater to Improve Groundwater Conditions in the Hashtgerd Aquifer, Iran

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  • Davod Najafian Ghoje Biglo1,
  • Mahdi Sarai Tabrizi*1,
  • Ali Saremi1,
  • Amir Khosrojerdi1,
  1. Department of Water Engineering and Sciences, SR.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2026-04-18

Revised: 2026-06-06

Accepted: 2026-06-25

Published in Issue 2026-06-30

Copyright (c) 2026 Davod Najafian Ghoje Biglo, Mahdi Sarai Tabrizi, Ali Saremi, Amir Khosrojerdi (Author)

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Najafian Ghoje Biglo, D., Sarai Tabrizi, M., Saremi, A., & Khosrojerdi, A. (2026). Scenario-Based Conjunctive Management of Surface Water, Groundwater and Reclaimed Wastewater to Improve Groundwater Conditions in the Hashtgerd Aquifer, Iran. Anthropogenic Pollution, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.57647/AP.2026.1001.10
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Abstract

This study aimed to optimize the integrated exploitation of water resources to reduce the drop in the level of the Hashtgerd aquifer, Iran, based on an integrated management. Firstly, hydroclimatology and groundwater balances were estimated, revealing that the 25-year drop in the aquifer level is 20.32 m. By modeling scenarios of population increase with a five-year growth rate of 3.4% and the construction of two wastewater treatment plants, along with optimizing the supply of demand through integrating the use of resources in the WEAP model, it was determined that in a five-year perspective, discharge from the aquifer to supply the water needs of drinking and industry will increase by 5.70 and 6.58 million cubic meters (MCM), respectively. By treating 11.32 MCM of industrial wastewater for industrial use along with treating 40% of urban wastewater and 57.37 MCM of agricultural wastewater for agricultural use, discharge from the aquifer showed a reduction. The model determined that agricultural needs exhibited the greatest effect on the aquifer level drop. The results showed that implementing the optimized scenario not only prevents the aquifer level drop in the five-year perspective, but also the aquifer balance will increase up to +2.1 MCM.

Keywords

  • Consumption optimization,
  • Integrated water resources management,
  • Non-conventional resources,
  • Water resources exploitation
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