There are currently 140 dams near completion and 119 are under construction amid concerns over insufficient supply due to water shortage across the country, energy minister Hamid Chitchian said at the inauguration ceremony of Bar Dam in Khorasan Razavi Province.
"Water resources security and sustainable consumption is vital for Iran in view of its arid and semi arid climate," the energy minister said, adding that his ministry has formulated comprehensive plans to this end. Bar Dam, located 23 kilometers northwest of Neishabour, is designed to provide water for the city's huge steel industry, but it can also supply potable water to Neishabour and Firouzeh cities if transferring pipelines are constructed.
Shortage of ground water resources in Khorasan Razavi Province is estimated at 1.170 million cubic meters, a record low, according to Mohammad-Hossein Jafari, managing director of the Khorasan Razavi Regional Water Authority.
Ground water reserves account for 78 percent of consumption, with the remaining 22 percent being supplied through surface waters, Jafari added. The province has four main watersheds, and the average annual precipitation stands at 225.7 millimeters.
In Iran, the water consumption per capita is twice the world’s standard, while 30 percent of drinking water is wasted. According to global standards the limit for drawing water is 40 percent of the renewable resources. In Khorasan Razavi Province, that standard is violated by 51 percent for surface waters and 74 percent for ground water resources. Over the past three decades, Iran has built 600 dams – an average of 20 a year – to irrigate farms and provide power. It is the third leading country in dam construction, with some 200 contracting companies, 70 consultant firms and 30 corporations as well as hundreds of hydroelectric manufacturing units operating projects in 40 countries.
