Investigating the factors affecting the Qanat discharge as a method for sustainable harvesting water from underground water resources

Qanat is a technique for obtaining water and transferring it for various uses. Due to the widespread arid and semi-arid areas in Iran, Qanat is the most sustainable method to obtain underground water. Considering the role of the Qanat in providing water to dry areas in the current situation of the country, where the issue of water shortage and water resources management is very important. Due to the importance of the Qanat in supplying water to dry areas in the country, the issue of water shortage and water resource management is very important knowing and studying the Qanat is very important and necessary. The purpose of the present study is to investigate and prioritize the most important physical and human parameters affecting Qanat discharge using the Analytical Hierarchy Method (AHP) according to the opinion of experts in the Mashhad-Chenaran plain. In this regard, firstly, the factors affecting Qanat were identified and studied by reviewing the sources and using the opinions of experts specializing in the field of Qanat and underground water. Then, using the hierarchical analysis method in the Expert Choice software environment, the weight and importance of each of the different parameters were determined. The results of parameter prioritization using the hierarchical analysis method showed that physical parameters with a weight of 0.545 have more value in Qanat discharge than human parameters. Also, based on the results of the prioritization of the physical parameters effective on Qanat discharge, the parameters related to the characteristics of the aquifer with a weight of 0.497 have the most importance in Qanat discharge. Also, according to the results obtained for the prioritization of human indicators, the ownership parameter with a weight of 0.539 has the most importance in Qanat discharge.