Journal of Advanced Informatics in Water, Soil, and Structure

Journal of Advanced Informatics in Water, Soil, and Structure

Priority Ranking of Qanat Rehabilitation Using Analytic Hierarchy Process (Case Study: Southern Khorasan)

Document Type : Research Article

Authors
Department of Water Engineering, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran.
Abstract
Every year, significant amounts of funding from government allocations are allocated towards the restoration and conservation of qanats. However, due to insufficient information, some qanats have undergone reconstruction and maintenance despite not being a priority for restoration. Additionally, implementing modern and technical operations in qanat reconstruction requires thorough examination, studies, and design. Through comprehensive identification and supplementary studies, all aspects of the qanats can be assessed from upstream to downstream, and after designing, the initiative for fundamental qanat reconstruction can be taken. Prioritizing qanat reconstruction greatly facilitates this process. This research focus on the revival and restoration of qanats from both managerial and technical perspectives. Using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method and Expert Choice software, 10 qanats from the plain group and 10 qanats from the mountainous group were prioritized in each perspective. The indicators used for prioritizing qanats included discharge, length, depth, chemical quality, rainfall, distance from waterways, population, and cultivated area .This research introduces a new scientific method for prioritizing the restoration and rehabilitation of qanats. Additionally, the method employed in this research selects qanats as a priority for rehabilitation and restoration, which can achieve desired irrigation with the allocated cost. In this study, the Boshrouye qanat in the plain group was prioritized for restoration and rehabilitation from both managerial and technical points of view, with weights of 0.17 and 0.163, respectively. Also, the Darmian qanat was prioritized for restoration and rehabilitation in the mountainous group from both managerial and technical perspectives, with weights of 0.265 and 0.219, respectively.
Keywords

Subjects


  1. Amiri, M.P. (2010). Project selection for oil-fields development by using the AHP and fuzzy TOPSIS methods. Expert Systems with Applications, 37, 6218-6224.  
  2. Asgharpour, M. J. (2012). Multi-Criteria Decision Making. Tehran University Press.
  3. Bahramlou, R., & Abbasi, F. (2010). Investigation of qanat water distribution management systems and its effect on their technical characteristics and efficiency (case study in Hamadan). The third national conference on management of irrigation and drainage networks.
  4. Brahimi, M., Olad Mashghieh, M. T., & Sehat, H. (2005). How to study the reconstruction and restoration of aqueducts. International Conference of Aqueducts, Kerman.
  5. Ceisi, V., Kerami, J., Alimohammadi, A., & Niknejad, S. A. (2010). Comparison of two decision-making methods, AHP and Fuzzy-AHP, in the initial location of underground dams in Taleghan region. Journal of Earth Sciences, 22(85), 27-34.  
  6. Haeri, M. (2007). Aqueduct in Iran. Cultural Research Office.
  7. Khorasan-Southern Basij Construction Organization. (2012). Aqueduct of Lasting Heritage (Vol. 1). Fekr Bakr.
  8. Maliki, A., & Khorsandi, A. (2004). Aqueducts in Iran, a case study of Tehran city aqueducts. Urban Processing and Planning Company.
  9. Mehdizade Ardakani, M. (2014). Traditional aqueduct tools and the knowledge of using them in Ardakan city. Water Exploitation and Watershed Management Congress, National Aqueduct and Aqueduct Management Conference.
  10. Mohammadi, F., Samadi Borojni, H., Fatahinafchi, R., & Hedayatipour, K. (2013). Sensitivity analysis in the ranking of dam construction projects in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari provinces using multi-criteria decision-making methods. Iranian Research Journal, 7(13), 59-67.
  11. Narjes Garhami, R. D., Khashai Seyuki, A. (2015). Determining the suitable places to use excess water from qanats to feed the aquifer using the AHP hierarchical analysis method (case study of Razavi Khorasan province). volume 22(2), 229-241.
  12. Noshadi, M., & Farhadi, A. (2011). Application of new knowledge and technologies in the improvement and renovation of qanats, case studies: Qanats of Yazd Province. International Conference on Traditional Knowledge of Water Resources Management, Yazd.
  13. Nouri, M., & Sharifi, M. B. (2010). To investigate multi-criteria decision-making methods and its application in water resources management. 5th National Water Engineering Congress.
  14. Rajo, A., & Kumar, N. (2004). Ranking multi-criteria river basin planning alternatives using fuzzy numbers. Fuzzy Sets and Systems, 100(5), 9-89.
  15. Ramezani Mehrian, M., Malik Ahmadi, B., & Rafiei, Y. (2012). Using Fuzzy Logic in the Placement of Abkhavan Artificial Feeding Places by Combining FTOPSIS and AHP Methods. Environmental Magazine, 38(3), 99-108.
  16. Ranjeber Naini, S., Jariani, M., & Chater Simab, Z. (2014). Comparison of the role of qanats, wells, and springs in draining underground aquifers. [Please provide journal name or conference information]
  17. Reports and studies related to the qanats of South Khorasan Province, water and soil management and engineering technical affairs, Jihad Agriculture Organization of South Khorasan Province. [Please provide more specific information about the report, such as date or author if available]
  18. Saaty, T. L. (1990). The Analytic Hierarchy Process. RWS Publications.
  19. Schenkerman, S. (1994). Avoiding rank reversal in AHP decision support models. European Journal of Operational Research, 74(3), 407–419.
  20. Shanbadian, M., & Mogholi, M. (2023). Prioritization of effective factors in the improvement of old qanats using the fuzzy hierarchical method (Case study: Siraf city, Bushehr province). [Please provide journal name]
  21. Van Wyk, F., Khojandi, A., & Kamaleswaran, R. (2019). Improving prediction performance using hierarchical analysis of real-time data: a sepsis case study. IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics, 23(3), 978-986.  
  22. Zare, M., Majidi, S., & Hesadi, H. (2013). Spatialization of artificial feeding projects using spatial multi-criteria decision-making methods (SMCDM). The first national conference on water and agriculture challenges, Iranian Irrigation and Drainage Association, Islamic Azad University, Khorasgan branch.
  23. Zarchesham, M. R., Khairkhah-Zarkash, M., & Ghasemian, D. (2011). Integration of GIS and decision support system to determine suitable areas for flood spreading operations. Geomatic Conference.
Volume 1, Issue 1 - Serial Number 1
January 2025
Pages 34-46

  • Receive Date 29 November 2023
  • Revise Date 23 February 2024
  • Accept Date 26 February 2024
  • First Publish Date 01 January 2025
  • Publish Date 01 January 2025