Investigation of the effect of qanats and wells on the rate of evaporation from the soil in dry regions (Case study: Yazd province, Iran)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Master of Watershed Science and Engineering, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Natural Resources and Desert Studies, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

3 Professor, Faculty of Natural Resources and Desert Studies, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

10.29252/aridbiom.2025.22611.2038

Abstract

Access to groundwater resources as one of the highest quality water sources has always been of interest to residents of dry and desert areas around the world. This essential need has led to the drilling of wells in most of the basins in these areas. On the other hand, the evaporation process from water sources such as wells and qanats also leads to losses and water shortages in dry and desert areas, which are often not considered in water resource management. Therefore, measuring the rate of evaporation from wells and qanats as the most important water sources in dry and semi-arid areas is the main approach of this research. The present study aims to measure the rate of evaporation from wells and qanats and analyze the results of expert surveys regarding the selection of the most suitable methods to reduce evaporation from wells using a hierarchical analysis method or AHP through questionnaire analysis and the results obtained were analyzed using Expert Choice software. This research was conducted in two parts: field operations and installation of four standard gypsum blocks with dimensions of 5 × 3 × 7 cm at depths of 30 cm (well mouth), 1 meter away from the well, 20 meters away from the well, 40 meters away from the well, and measuring and comparing the moisture percentage, as well as laboratory experiments. The results of measuring the moisture percentage in the wells under study showed that with an increase in distance from the well mouth, the moisture decreases, and with an increase in well depth, the moisture percentage increases. The moisture absorbed by the gypsum block inside the moist and water-rich well was higher than the dry wells, including sewage wells. Furthermore, the results of comparing the main criteria in the Expert Choice software showed that the highest weight was related to the type of well (0.66) and the lowest weight was related to the time criterion (0.04). The well depth (0.20) and the type of sediments (0.08) were ranked third and fourth in priority, respectively. The comparison of sub-criteria of the type of well led to the placement of qanat rods in the first rank with a weight of 0.687 and sewage wells in the fourth rank with a weight of 0.127. The comparison of time sub-criteria led to the placement of the summer season in the first rank with a weight of 0.496 and the night in the fourth rank with a weight of 0.04. Based on the sub-criteria of sediment type, the covered basin had the highest weight (0.729) and the bare basin had the lowest weight (0.109). Overall, most experts believed that unused and unexploited wells should be filled. However, they had different opinions on the three parameters under study, with well capping having a higher priority in reducing evaporation from wells with a weight of 0.709, and well mouth capping being the lowest priority with a weight of 0.113.

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References

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Journal of Arid Biome
Volume 14, Issue 2
October 2024
Pages 35-47

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