Iran's annual water consumption in agriculture sector tops 90 billion cubic meters, of which a massive 60% go to waste due to unsustainable and wasteful farming practices, the head of the Energy Ministry’s special workgroup that oversees water governance policies and available resources said.
“Water resources are depleting rapidly and they do not meet the country’s growing demand,” Mohammad Hobevatan was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
Iran’s average annual precipitation does not exceed 225 millimeters, which is 30% less than the global average, he added, noting that of the total rainfall (103 billion cubic meters), a portion also evaporates.
According to the official, available water resources stood at 130 bcm about 20 years ago, which now has dwindled by 20%.
“Of the total precipitation [103 bcm], 59 bcm are surface resources that run into rivers and stored in dams and lakes, and the rest [44 bcm] penetrates into groundwater tables,” he said.
The expert predicted that the country’s water scarcity would hit crisis level by 2025, when available renewable water will be less than 1,000 cubic meters per capita, down from 2,000 cubic meters in 1950.
“If water consumption patterns do not change in the near future, many parts of the country will turn into barren desert while entire towns and villages will become uninhabitable,” he said.
Majlis Research Center, the influential research arm of the Iranian Parliament, says in a new report that groundwater resources all over the country are shrinking at such an incredible speed that water tables cannot replenish themselves.
According to the report, Iran is on red alert as over-extraction of groundwater resources over the last four decades is taking a heavy toll not only on the farming sector but also on industries, the Energy Ministry's website Paven reported.
Groundwater use peaked in the 1990s and surprisingly, the uptrend has continued unabated, the report said.
Water Deficit
Annual water deficit from ground resources in Iran is 143 billion cubic meters, which is more than the volume of renewable water resources that annually averages 105 bcm, of which close to 70 bcm are exploitable.
Renewable water resources are defined as the average annual flow of rivers and recharge of aquifers generated from precipitation.
According to the Energy Ministry data, renewable resources were around 140 bcm in 1999 and embarked on the rapidly descending order ever since. It fell to 135 bcm, 130 bcm and 110 bcm in 2007, 2013 and 2017 respectively.
“Expanding water-intensive industries in parched areas, digging illegal wells, planting water-intensive crops to become self-sufficient at any price, in addition to chronic droughts, are all pushing the water-stressed country to the point of no return,” the report added.
The continuation of the critical condition can endanger the country’s security.
Iran's annual water consumption is above 100 billion cubic meters and its shocking water deficit will not decline unless the excessive withdrawal of water from aquifers ends in the agriculture sector. Tens of thousands of illegal water wells, which have been dug in recent years across the country, must be sealed without fear or favor.
