Assessment of the Effects of Temperature and Precipitation Variations on the Trend of River Flows in Urmia Lake Watershed

Trend analysis is one of the appropriate methods to assess the hydro-climatic condition of watersheds, which is commonly used for analysis of change pattern in a single variable over time. However, in real cases, many hydrological variables such as river flow are directly affected by climate and environmental factors, which usually go unnoticed in routine analyzes. The aim of the present research is to investigate the trend of river discharge in 25 hydrometric stations in Lake Urmia river basin with and without consideration of temperature and rainfall variability. Briefly, the results showed that there is a decreasing trend in all stations, which is significant in 9 cases. Also, it has been shown that regarding to trends in precipitation and temperature, the number of stations with significant decreasing trend will reduce to 7, which shows low impact of climate factors on the reduction rate of discharge in these stations. Based on the results, it can be concluded that climate variations have direct effect in inferring significant trends in river flow, so that considering these variables in studying of river discharge can lead to different results in the detection of significant trends

Water allocation under climate change in the Qezelozan-Sefidrood Watershed

The Qezelozan-Sefidrood Watershed is a transboundary watershed in Iran, shared by eight provinces. Recent development plans in the upstream provinces include several dams that are either under construction or at the study stage. Implementation of these plans will negatively impact the downstream provinces, which historically have had access to the river. The situation can be exacerbated by the expected climate change impacts on the basin. This study evaluates the possible impacts of upstream development plans and climate change on the natural flow of the Qezelozan-Sefidrood River and designs a reasonable mechanism for fair allocation of streamflow to the riparian parties. First, a watershed model is developed using the Water Evaluation And Planning System (WEAP) software. This model is run for current water allocation and various development and climate change scenarios. The results indicate that the downstream provinces have a high vulnerability to the expected climate and development changes in the basin. To reduce the potential tension, the study treats the problem as a bankruptcy problem and applies the Adjusted Proportional rule to fairly allocate the available resource (water) to the creditors (conflict parties). © 2012 IEEE

Water Allocation Under Climate Change In The Qezelozan-Sefidrood Watershed

The Qezelozan-Sefidrood Watershed is a transboundary watershed in Iran, shared by eight provinces. Recent development plans in the upstream provinces include several dams that are either under construction or at the study stage. Implementation of these plans will negatively impact the downstream provinces, which historically have had access to the river. The situation can be exacerbated by the expected climate change impacts on the basin. This study evaluates the possible impacts of upstream development plans and climate change on the natural flow of the Qezelozan-Sefidrood River and designs a reasonable mechanism for fair allocation of streamflow to the riparian parties. First, a watershed model is developed using the Water Evaluation And Planning System (WEAP) software. This model is run for current water allocation and various development and climate change scenarios. The results indicate that the downstream provinces have a high vulnerability to the expected climate and development changes in the basin. To reduce the potential tension, the study treats the problem as a bankruptcy problem and applies the Adjusted Proportional rule to fairly allocate the available resource (water) to the creditors (conflict parties). © 2012 IEEE