Assessment of water quality deterioration trends in Zayandeh Rud River using the SIAQUA-IPH model

Subject Areas : Environmental issues related to water systems

Mohamad Reza Fadaei Tehrani ¹ , Mozhgan Mirzaei ²

1 - Assistant Professor and Faculty Member, Isfahan Higher Education and Research Complex, Niroo Research Institute, Iran.
2 - Assistant Professor and Faculty Member, Department of Environmental Engineering and HSE, Daneshjooyan Pishro Non-profit Higher Education Institute, Isfahan, Iran

Received: 2025-04-06 Accepted : 2025-07-13 Published : 2025-07-21

Keywords: Qualitative analysis, Pollution, Water resources, Numerical model,

Abstract :

This study focuses on the dispersion of point source pollution in Iran's vital Zayandehroud River, heavily affected by industrial and urban wastewater. Researchers aimed to assess the SIAQUA-IPH model's effectiveness within a GIS environment in simulating water quality changes (BOD, DO, nitrate, phosphate) caused by discharges from the Isfahan Steel Company, Mobarakeh Steel Company, and Polyacryl Iran Corporation. The Zayandehroud River's drainage network was divided into 411 sub-basins using GIS and the SIAQUA-IPH model, with hydrological characteristics extracted via SMADA software. Pollutant concentration data from seven sampling stations were used for model input. Simulation results showed strong correlations between measured and modeled values for BOD (0.94) and DO (0.98), indicating high accuracy. Nitrate (0.60) and phosphate (0.66) simulations were rated as moderate. Overall, the agreement between measured and simulated data confirmed the model's reliability for assessing point source pollution in the river. The analysis revealed that the three industrial complexes significantly increase BOD (by approximately 58%) and decrease DO (by about 50%) along the river. The study underscores the importance of GIS tools and simulation models for understanding and predicting the impact of point source pollution on river water quality, emphasizing the need for effective pollution control measures for the Zayandehroud River.

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