Irrigation and Water Engineering

Irrigation and Water Engineering

The effects of water pricing policy on groundwater ‎dynamics of Shahdad ‎Plain

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman,Iran
2 Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, ‎Iran
3 Department of Pure Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematics and Computer, Shahid Bahonar University of ‎Kerman, Kerman, Iran‎
4 Department of civil engineering, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran‎
10.22125/iwe.2026.588276.1932
Abstract
Given the acceleration of climate change and the overuse of groundwater resources, it is ‎essential to understand the impact of these changes on the dynamics of groundwater quantity ‎and to implement efficient policies to improve the quantitative conditions of aquifers. One way ‎to predict the water level of an aquifer in the long term is to simulate changes in the water level ‎of wells in the future using mathematical models. In this study, a dynamic model based on ‎differential equations is introduced that describes the drying process of water wells in the ‎Shahdad aquifer in Kerman city. In addition, the effects of water pricing policy on groundwater ‎dynamics were analyzed based on a positive mathematical programming model. The results of ‎the dynamic model showed that the current recharge rate in the Shahdad aquifer is low. So that ‎‎57 percent of the wells being exploited in the aforementioned aquifer have dried up in 2024 ‎compared to 2015. This has led to a 25 percent reduction in water extraction. The model's ‎prediction results showed that continuing the current trend of water extraction from the Shahdad ‎aquifer will cause most of the wells being exploited to dry up in 2036; This amount would be ‎equivalent to a 71 percent reduction in water extraction, which would reduce this reduction to 56 ‎percent if the water pricing policy were implemented under a 100 percent water price increase ‎scenario. In fact, implementing a water pricing policy will reduce water consumption by 15% by ‎‎2036.‎
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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 18 August 2026