The analysis of the current state of water resource management in the country shows that the water bankruptcy crisis is a technical, legal, social, and economic tension. Despite having all the necessary authorities, the water management system has been unable to take effective steps to address this issue. The team of experts at Poraab company, with 20 years of experience in water resource management, identifies one of the main reasons for this as the lack of an integrated database of users and their extraction amounts from underground water resources in the plains. The absence of such a database has resulted in ambiguity in controlling and monitoring water consumption, allowing users to outpace each other in water usage, continually seeking to extract more from these resources. This situation has led to a lack of accountability among stakeholders, users, and governing bodies for the protection of water resources. Without participation, each party blames the other for the current situation.

Therefore, the lack of clear information about the replenishment and extraction of each aquifer, combined with the failure to engage stakeholders in the water resource management process, has exacerbated the challenge of trust issues between water resource users and decision-makers.

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Water Quota Bank

In water resource management terminology, the permissible annual extraction volume from each well is referred to as water share. Farmers or industrial users who have a valid extraction license are permitted to extract and consume their water share according to the terms outlined in the license.

A Water Share Bank is a platform where the annual water share (the permissible annual extraction volume) for each user is allocated to their respective wells, provided they hold a valid extraction license. In this system, each user can view and manage their total annual water share, along with the amounts consumed and remaining, as well as the validity period of the water share. This unified access to information enables better and more precise management of water usage throughout the irrigation and agricultural cycles. Beyond viewing their own allocated water share, users can also monitor the total volume of water shares allocated to all wells in the aquifer. This transparency in the Water Share Bank promotes increased trust and accountability among users regarding the underground water resources, which in turn encourages conservation and enhances efficiency in water use.

As a result, the management of the aquifer's water resources becomes more organized and transparent, based on the allocation and consumption by users, and the prevention of over-extraction becomes more manageable. The creation of the Water Share Bank facilitates water accounting, which serves as a fundamental tool for managing water resources in the aquifer, enabling more effective control over water usage.

In the Water Share Bank, each well has an account. Some of the most important information about the beneficiaries in the Water Share Bank includes:

Identity and elevation information of the beneficiaries and their representatives.

Well information, including discharge according to the operating license, total water share volume with a start and end date for annual validity, and the amount used and remaining.

Equipment and installation information, including certificates of proper function of the meter and equipment, and calibration certificate for the meter.

Crop information (if applicable).

It is important to note that providing the above information is mandatory for membership in the Water Share Bank. Additionally, a well with an operating license must be equipped with a smart meter that has a certificate of proper functioning and a calibration certificate before entering the Water Share Bank, so that the possibility of withdrawing more than the authorized water share is prevented.

According to the implementation guidelines formulated for the Water Share Bank in each plain, beneficiaries receive their annual water share after becoming a member of the Water Share Bank.

Advantages of the Water Share Bank:

  • Better Monitoring and Control:

    Having transparent and accurate information about the amount of groundwater extraction helps managers and decision-makers to have a realistic view of groundwater resources and prevent over-extraction in the plains. This, in turn, leads to a balance between supply and demand. Moreover, access to transparent data can reveal fairer and more logical solutions to address the issue of water insolvency.

  • Increased Accountability of Stakeholders

    Transparency and integration of information will lead to a focus on the proper utilization of these resources, which will, in turn, foster public collaboration and increased accountability from all stakeholders in the sector. Additionally, transparency inherently builds trust among all parties involved.