Future planning of water resources of Aksaray region with the WEAP program

The presence of water directly affects every aspect of our lives. Thus, it signifies the importance of finding new water sources as well as preserving and sustaining existent ones. Increasing population and agricultural areas, climate changes, drought, excessive pollution, environmental degradation in sources, socio-economic impacts, demand on sectoral and industry basis increase the need for water day by day. Limited fresh water sources, its lack of obtainability, and our country's tendency to water poverty led to a study that is based on provincial basis. In this study, Water Evaluation And Planning System (WEAP) program is used to analyze hydrological models of Aksaray province's water sources such as Mamasın dam, Melendiz and Karasu creeks. Data of this analysis then integrated into the program to forecast possible changes on water levels in the upcoming years with the help of different scenarios by 2075. The most favorable developments and the most unfavorable development are two essential scenarios. Additionally, there are several more scenarios used in this study. The most favorable scenario includes the highest rainfall, the highest flow rate, the least evaporation values, the decrease in agricultural areas, reduced water consumption per capita with the raise of public awareness, etc. On the other hand, the most unfavorable scenario is assumed to be the exact opposite of the most favorable one. The aim of this study is to gain a broad perspective on how to make the most effective use of water volume and how this amount may change for the coming years.