Foresight of the Water Issue in Isfahan

The purpose of this research is to identify the key variables and driving forces affecting the future of the water issue in the city of Isfahan and to compile the scenarios facing the city of Isfahan in the water issue. The current research method as an applied research and using the critical uncertainties approach has presented the future scenarios of water in Isfahan. To collect data, the method of library studies and expert panels has been used. Using the opinion of experts, 20 key factors in the form of five drivers, i.e. 1. The price of water, 2. Investing in new technologies, 3. Water policies, 4. urban population and 5. Water infrastructures were categorized. In the next stage, the two drivers of water policies and investment in new technologies as critical uncertainties were the basis for compiling the scenarios of Isfahan City in the field of water, and finally, four scenarios were compiled. The first scenario of the battle for the last sip narrates the situation in which Isfahan will face a severe drought; The second scenario, there is water but little, shows a situation where water policies are forward-looking and do not ignore long-term challenges, but technology is left out as a solution to solve problems in this area; The third scenario is water, but for the rich, it is a bipolar story about access to water; And the fourth scenario of green Isfahan describes a situation that city managers and officials, taking into account the potential of new technologies in the optimal management of water consumption and by adopting forward-looking policies, realize a green city that is favourable to different sections of the society. The results show that drivers and scenarios show that the most important factors determining the future water situation in Isfahan City are not environmental factors, but factors related to human decisions