A multiobjective and multicriteria methodology for support to the concession of water use rights

What is it about?

We proposed a methodology to assist in granting water use rights, using multi-objective and multi-criteria methods, and its application to the Preto River basin. We divided the basin into five zones, and we identified water demands and availability in them. We defined eight different development scenarios for the basin, taking into account aspects such as the location of irrigators in the basin, the type of irrigator, and their growth rate. From the interviews with experts, we established seven criteria, covering environmental, social, technical, and economic aspects. We evaluated these criteria using GIS and water balance using Acquanet. We applied three multi-objective methods (Compromise Programming - CP, PROMÉTHÉE-II, and TOPSIS) to four different sets of weights, defined by consulting experts and simulating -policies- to guide the granting process in the Preto River basin. The -policies- aimed do give priority to social, environmental, and economic aspects, in addition to a -neutral policy,- with all weights equal. The results for the different -policies-, after being normalized, produced an aggregated classification and established the concession scenario to be implemented in the basin. The methodology made it possible to define a water granting policy capable of considering conflicts and articulated with social policies.

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Why is it important?

This work brings a simple and interesting form for the concession of water use rights.

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