Application of Fuzzy Technique for Order-Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (FTOPSIS) to Prioritize Water Resource Development Economic Scenarios in Pishin Catchment

Water is a basic demand of sustainable development in most regions of the world. The non-uniform temporal and spatial distribution of water resources will lead to water shortage in arid and semi-arid areas. Pishin catchment is one of the most important catchments in South-East Iran. The basin had been faced with consecutive droughts in recent years. On the other hand, water resources development projects anticipated and necessary in this catchment. Hence, the need for a study to prioritize different scenarios and their effects on the catchment should be considered to overcome these dry periods. The main objective of the present study is to predict water development projects in the study area. Due to the multiplicity of projects and high cost of them, the concurrent execution priority implementation of these projects is considered as an important factor. Fuzzy multiple attribute decision making is a suitable method for comparison, selection and prioritization of the different options taking into account different criteria. Hence, in this study, the effects of the water development projects are predicted using Water Evaluation and Planning System (WEAP) model. The projects according to the economic criteria are evaluated and prioritized with Fuzzy TOPSIS. Six water development projects and criteria including five economic indexes are considered. Based on the results, according to the investigated indicators, increasing irrigation efficiency in agricultural sector and reducing evaporation from the reservoir scenarios have top priority.