Evaluation of the implementation of the restoration and resilience plan of groundwater resources with an emphasis on the installation of smart meters (case study: Boshroyeh Plain, South Khorasan)

Background and purpose: One of the national and strategic plans of the water sector is the restoration and resilience plan of groundwater. The aggravation of water level drop and reservoir deficit in aquifers has led to the prohibition of more than 405 areas out of 609 study areas in the country. In this connection, the Ministry of Energy, by defining the resilience plan, artificial feeding and flood spreading in 2004, compiled its programs in the field of improving the condition of groundwater resources. Again, with the active participation of the Supreme Water Council in the 11th government, the restoration and resilience plan of the country's groundwater resources including 15 projects was approved. Review of recent studies that have been conducted in different plains of the country; It shows that the resilience of water resources has had different effects on the condition of groundwater resources in different regions; Considering that the effects of the resilience plan on the study areas of South Khorasan have been less investigated; Therefore, in this research, the effects of the resilience project in the study area of Boshroyeh have been investigated, emphasizing the installation of smart meters.
Materials and methods: In order to investigate the issue, the statistics of 16 observation wells and the rainfall data of Boshroyeh Plain were used in the time range of 1996-2021, and in order to investigate the fluctuations of groundwater, the statistics of the groundwater level of the observation wells in the year were used. Before (2009-2015) and after the installation of the smart meter (2015-2021) were used and the hydrograph of the aquifer wells was drawn and analyzed in the period of 2007-2022. Then, maps of groundwater level and confluence were drawn and analyzed using Arc GIS software and kerging interpolation in the years before and after the installation of the smart meter.
Findings: The average drop of the groundwater level in the period of 2009-2015 before the installation of the smart meter was 3.21 meters and the average drop of the groundwater level in the period after the installation of the smart meter in the period of 2015-2021 was reduced to 2 meters. ; In other words, after the installation of the smart meter, the water level has decreased. The decrease in the volume of aquifer in the period of six years after the installation of the smart meter compared to the decrease in the volume of the aquifer in the period of six years before the installation of the smart meter is equal to 67.6%, which indicates a decrease of 32.4% in the decline process The volume of the aquifer in the period after the installation of the smart meter is compared to the same period before their installation.
Conclusion: The results showed that during the statistical period of 2009-2021, the severity of the water level drop was not the same, so that from 2015 onwards, which was the year when the installation of smart meters was completed, the drop of the groundwater level faced a lower slope. Also, the decline in the volume of the aquifer in the time period after the installation of the smart meter has been lower compared to the same period before the installation. Also, the amount of saved water due to the installation of smart meters has had a significant economic value.