Conjunctive management of groundwater and surface water resources using a hybrid simulation–optimization method

This study aimed to determine the optimal conjunctive utilization of groundwater and surface water resources in the Halil River basin, one of the most significant study regions in Kerman Province (Iran). Multi-verse optimizer (MVO) and the ANFIS (adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems) simulation model, known as the MVO–ANFIS simulation–optimization model, were used for this purpose. Moreover, the optimal exploitation policy for the studied basin was presented. The ANFIS model yielded a coefficient of determination greater than 0.99 in Baft, Rabor, and Jiroft.This model had a high capability to simulate groundwater levels in these three regions. Therefore, the ANFIS model was adopted as the simulation model to predict the aquifer water table in these regions. Regarding the conjunctive utilization of groundwater and surface water resources, the exploitation policy resulting from the MVO–ANFIS simulation–optimization model had a desirable performance by supplying 91.70, 87.75, and 97.58% of the total demands of Baft, Rabor, and Jiroft, respectively. Moreover, results of water system performance indicators, including reliability (82.96, 72.65, 95.07), resiliency (70, 53.47, 80), vulnerability (29.54, 25.64, 17.02), and sustainability (74.24%, 66.10%, 85.78%) in the mentioned regions, respectively, showed the appropriate performance of the proposed model for the simulation–optimization problem.