Journal of Sustainable Urban & Regional Development Studies (JSURDS)

Abstract Background and Objective: Water security as a comprehensive concept that encompasses the measurement of the achievement of various water resources management goals. In other words, water security is strongly influenced by many factors, including increasing urban population, economic development, changes in living standards, increasing water pollution, overexploitation of groundwater resources, and climate change. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate and prioritize the Water Security Index (WSI) in the Qarasu sub-basins in Ardabil province.
Methodology: In this study, hydrological (H), environmental (E), life (L) and ... indicators were used to estimate the water security index. In other words, the water security index uses the combination of the aforementioned indicators and normalization to assess the sustainability of the watershed.
Results and findings: The results of the environmental criteria assessment showed that the most rangeland is in sub-basin (17) with 19.33 percent, and in terms of forest land, the most is in sub-basin (7) with 60.92 percent, and the least rangeland is in sub-basin (11) with 0.04 percent, and forest land is in sub-basins (5, 11, 14) with 0.01 percent. The results of the life criteria assessment also showed that the most human development is in sub-basins (1, 4, 5, 11, 14, 15, 17, 24, 25) with a maximum score of 1. Finally, based on the results of combining the (H, E, L) indicators, the results of the Water Security Index (WSI) showed that the highest level of sustainability of the Qarasu-Samian watershed in terms of water security is related to sub-basin (1) with a value of 0.63, which indicates the sustainability of this sub-basin in the entire area of the Qarasu-Samian watershed. Also, the lowest level of water security sustainability of the watershed was assigned to sub-basin (21) with a value of 0.03, which indicates a very high weakness of the water security of the sub-basin in the entire area of the Qarasu-Samian watershed.
Conclusion: Therefore, it is concluded that the higher the sub-basins are in terms of hydrological, environmental and life indicators, the higher the watershed will be in terms of sustainability and water security. Finally, it is suggested that in future studies, more tests, indicators and new methods should be used to assess the water security of the watershed.

Abstract Background and Objective: Water security is strongly influenced by many factors including increasing urban population, economic development, changes in living standards, increasing water pollution, over-exploitation of groundwater resources, and climate change. The aim of the study is to evaluate the impact of hydrological index on water security index (WSI) in Qarasu sub-basins.
Methodology: In this study, hydrological index (H), per capita water, and water discharge were used to estimate the water security index. In other words, the water security index uses normalization to assess the sustainability of the watershed.
Results and findings: The results of the water discharge index assessment in the Qarasu watershed showed that the highest water discharge among the 27 sub-basins studied was related to sub-basin 1 at the Namin hydrometric station with a value of 560,196,073 cubic meters and sub-basin 23 at the Nanekaran hydrometric station with a value of 305,170,988 cubic meters. The results of the per capita water assessment in the Qarasu sub-basins showed that the highest per capita water for each person was allocated to sub-basin 20 at the Nooran station with a value of 957.9733,133 liters and in the next rank, sub-basin 18 at the Baroq station with a per capita water value of 914.9249,868 liters among the sub-basins studied. Therefore, it is concluded that the higher the hydrological index in the sub-basins studied, the more suitable the basin sustainability index will be. Finally, it is suggested that executive and management measures be implemented in some sub-basins that do not have a suitable hydrological index, as the Water Security Index (WSI) is very low in them, in order to witness the development of sub-indices in all the studied basins so that the Water Security Index takes an upward trend.