ABSTRACT
Water resources optimization models have been used to determine optimal water allocations among competing water uses. However, little is known about salinity management in general, apart from case specific situations, when there is a combination of different salinity sources in a tidal river. Improving water allocation strategies for different water uses among different stakeholders is crucial for social and economic developments. Designing such strategies for multiple purposes is complex if water scarcity conditions are prevalent. Distribution of river water whether for irrigation, industrial or domestic use, requires a water quality standard. Water allocations in a basin are distributed mainly on the basis of the water system characteristics, water demands and water availability. A multi-objective optimization model was coupled to a 1-D numerical simulation model to optimize water allocations in the Shatt al-Arab River. Seawater intrusion, return flows, and upstream salinity are accounted to obtain optimized solutions to the class of problems in salinity dynamics.
