Urban water pricing based on location-based factors in GIS (Study area: Dehnu Yazd)
Subject Areas : Journal of Radar and Optical Remote Sensing and GIS
Mohammad Ali Arasteh
1
(Head of GIS Group, Yazd Water and Wastewater Company, Ph.D. Department of Information Technology, University of Qom, Iran)
Keywords: Dynamic pricing, urban water, multi-criteria decision making, location-based factors,
Abstract :
Water and wastewater companies are facing a substantial challenge in covering the costs of infrastructure development and maintenance while maintaining fair pricing. This paper aims to propose a new pricing model for urban water that takes into account the costs of development, distribution, and maintenance of the urban water network, as well as factors such as pressure, water quality, and location factors. To determine the impact of location factors, the GIS analysis was used, taking the length of the pipeline route to reach each customer as a distance factor. Experts were consulted and a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach was used to determine the weight of each factor. The proposed pricing formula was compared to the current pricing system by comparing water bills from subscribers in Yazd province. The results showed that with the proposed pricing, water revenues align with its costs. Additionally, only 20% of subscribers experience an increase in their bills, while 30% see a decrease, resulting in relative satisfaction among subscribers.