Abstract
The water allocation problem is complex and requires a combination of regulations, policies, and mechanisms to support water management to minimize the risk of shortage among competing users. This paper compiles the application of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) related to water allocation. In this regard, this paper aims to identify and to discern the pattern, distribution of study regions, water problem classifications, and decision techniques application for a specific water allocation problem. We applied a systematic literature review study from 2000 to 2019 by using four literature databases (Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, and Google Scholar). From 109 papers, 49 publications have been identified and information extracted. This study reveals that in the past two decades the application of MCDM in the area of water allocation has increased particularly after 2014. Around 65% and 12% of study papers were conducted in Asia and Europe, respectively. Water shortage, water use management, and water quality were consecutively the most top-ranked discussed water problems. NSGA II (non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm), GA (genetic algorithm), and LP (linear programming) are the more often applied decision methods to solve water allocation problems. The key findings of this study provide guidelines for future research studies.
Highlights
Water is an essential resource for the existence of every form of life
The objectives of this review study are: (1) to assess the trend of papers based on publication year, (2) to assess the distribution of papers based on the study region, (3) to identify and prioritize water allocation problems, (4) to identify the most frequently applied decision techniques, and (5) to suggest appropriate decision-making methods for different water allocation problems
The results are summarized in detail according to: the trend of publications, study region distribution, water problem classification, use of decision techniques, and applications in different water allocation problems
Summary
Water is an essential resource for the existence of every form of life. It is valuable for maintaining a healthy ecosystem and supporting socio-economic development. 75% of the earth’s surface is covered by water. The remaining 3% of the water on earth is freshwater. The rest requires intensive investment to refine for consumption [1]. This shows freshwater is very important and different water uses should be considered very carefully. At a global level, according to the Cassardo and Jones [1]; FAO [3] report, approximately 70% of water is used for agriculture, mainly in the form of irrigation, 22% for industrial purposes, and 8% for domestic purposes and one percent for recreational use
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