Urban Water Management Considering Reclaimed Wastewater and Runoff as a New Water Resource for City of Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Tehran, the capital of Iran, like many megacities in the world is faced with increasing freshwater demand and water resources limitation due to the rapid growth of population. In this paper, water reuse and wastewater recycling are considered as a sustainable solution for water supply and wastewater management of Tehran. A linear programming optimization model with the object of cost minimization is used to allocate water between users and resources, concerning the water quantity and quality of each one. Ultimately the economic and environmental effects of this strategy will be presented as the conclusion of this study. According to this study, improving wastewater treatment plants and control of water quality in canals and streams in order to substitute these two new resource for freshwater and groundwater have positive environmental and economic effects. The examples of environmental benefits are reducing pollution loads to receiving streams, adjusting increasing water demand and preventing groundwater level drawdown especially in the period of drought. In addition to the environmental benefits, although improving wastewater treatment plants and control of water quality in canals and streams need considerable investments, long usage of these two new recourses is more worthwhile