Investigating Effective Strategies on Drinking Water Demand Management in Birjand City

Water is considered a passive defense means. One of the strategies of enemy invasion, especially in the border areas of the country (such as South Khorasan) is to dominate the minimal water resources in the region. Also, the growth in demand and the constant volume of renewable fresh water resources has led to water scarcity which in turn has provided the grounds for the development of science and economics theories on the issue of scarce resources allocation. The purpose of this study was to investigate effective factors on drinking water consumption pattern for scarce resources using experts' opinions and employing Analytical Hierarchy and Topsis Analysis (TOPSIS) techniques. The results showed that the strategies of applying tariffs in accordance with the conditions and costs of producing and distributing, preparing and applying water efficiency labels on all equipment and household appliances, using educational catalogs and advertising warnings to reduce water consumption, installing equipment for water use in schools and educational centers and some mosques, and comprehensive water resources (which we lack in Iran) are the best strategies among drinking water consumption patterns in arid regions. The results of this study indicated that the combination of the Hierarchical Analysis Process model and the Ideal Likelihood Option (TOPSIS) can be used to examine and prioritize the patterns of drinking water consumption.