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Analysis of Effective Environmental Flow Release Strategies for Lake Urmia Restoration

Author

Listed:
  • Ali Torabi Haghighi

    (University of Oulu)

  • Nasim Fazel

    (University of Oulu)

  • Ali Akbar Hekmatzadeh

    (Shiraz University of Technology)

  • Björn Klöve

    (University of Oulu)

Abstract

Saline lakes have diminished considerably due to large-scale irrigation projects throughout the world. Environmental flow (EF) release from upstream reservoirs could help conserve and restore these lakes. However, experiences from regions lacking environmental legislation or with insufficient water resources management show that, despite EF allocation, farmers tend to use all available water for agriculture. In this study, we employed a new method for designing environmental flow release strategies to restore desiccated terminal lakes in arid and semi-arid regions with intensive cultivation within the catchment. The novelty of the method is that it takes into account farmers’ water use behavior and the natural flow regime in upstream systems to design an optimum monthly EF release strategy for reservoirs. We applied the method to the water resource system of Lake Urmia, once the largest saline lake in the Middle East and now one of the most endangered saline lakes in the world. The analysis showed that the EF released is exploited by lowland farmers before reaching Lake Urmia and that inflow to the lake from some rivers has decreased by up to 80%. We propose a new EF release strategy that requires a considerable change in practice whereby water is released in the shortest possible time (according to reservoir outlet capacity) during the period of lowest irrigation demand in winter. Restoring the lake to minimum ecological level would require 2.4–3.4 km3 EF allocation by different methods of release based on the recent condition (2002–2011) of the lake.

Suggested Citation

  • Ali Torabi Haghighi & Nasim Fazel & Ali Akbar Hekmatzadeh & Björn Klöve, 2018. "Analysis of Effective Environmental Flow Release Strategies for Lake Urmia Restoration," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 32(11), pages 3595-3609, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:waterr:v:32:y:2018:i:11:d:10.1007_s11269-018-2008-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s11269-018-2008-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kaveh Madani, 2014. "Water management in Iran: what is causing the looming crisis?," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 4(4), pages 315-328, December.
    2. Hossein Kakahaji & Hamed Banadaki & Abbas Kakahaji & Abdulamir Kakahaji, 2013. "Prediction of Urmia Lake Water-Level Fluctuations by Using Analytical, Linear Statistic and Intelligent Methods," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(13), pages 4469-4492, October.
    3. Elmira Hassanzadeh & Mahdi Zarghami & Yousef Hassanzadeh, 2012. "Determining the Main Factors in Declining the Urmia Lake Level by Using System Dynamics Modeling," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(1), pages 129-145, January.
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    1. Maleki, Tahereh & Koohestani, Hossein & Keshavarz, Marzieh, 2022. "Can climate-smart agriculture mitigate the Urmia Lake tragedy in its eastern basin?," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    2. Wencong Yue & Zhongqi Liu & Meirong Su & Meng Xu & Qiangqiang Rong & Chao Xu & Zhenkun Tan & Xuming Jiang & Zhixin Su & Yanpeng Cai, 2022. "Inclusion of Ecological Water Requirements in Optimization of Water Resource Allocation Under Changing Climatic Conditions," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 36(2), pages 551-570, January.
    3. Qin Ma & Xiaojun Yao & Cong Zhang & Chen Yang & Kang Yang & Zhijuan Tian & Jiawei Li, 2023. "Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Terminal Lakes in the Hexi Interior, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-18, December.

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