The construction of Fynesk Dam, located 76 km northeast of Semnan City, the capital of the namesake province, is underway to help alleviate water tension in Semnan and nearby cities.
With a capacity of 11.87 million cubic meters, the dam will supply 7.23 mcm to households and the rest to farmlands and green space, IRNA reported.
Considering the critical water conditions and serious water shortage in the province, the dam’s completion is vital to solve water issues in the central cities of the province.
The excessive use of groundwater resources has also caused land subsidence in the province.
The annual water withdrawal from dwindling underground resources in drought-stricken Semnan has exceeded 150 million cubic meters and it is continuing to rise.
Of the total extraction, close to 90% are used for unsustainable farming practices. Households and industries account for the remaining 10%.
Semnan has one of the lowest rates of rainfall and over 95% of the province constitute the central desert, which shows its dire water condition.
More than 60% of the urban population live in the cities of Semnan and Shahroud, because of which the two cities register the highest water consumption.
Semnan is located to the east of Tehran Province. More than 43,000 farmers earn their living from tilling the land that stretches over 198,000 hectares. They produce 1.5 million tons of farm products per annum, namely grapes, pistachio, apricot, pomegranate, olives, garlic and pepper.
The volume of precipitation is also much lower than the national average and the rate of water evaporation is high. Therefore, a part of the required water is supplied from external sources.
Strategies such as rainwater harvesting, judicious water use (especially in the agro sector), promoting advanced irrigation techniques and using recycled wastewater have been implemented to address the water woes. However, residents still suffer from water shortages and almost 500 mcm of water are wasted annually in the industrial and farming sectors.
Water consumption in the province has increased due to the rise in temperature. However, potable water supply to urban and rural areas has not been disrupted so far.
By renovating the water network and pumping stations, as well as drilling new wells, drinking water has been supplied to the people of the province without a problem.
Semnan Water and Wastewater Company has over 320,000 subscribers in urban and rural regions. About 1.25 billion cubic meters of water are supplied in the province per year.
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