To supply potable water to residents in small towns in Bushehr Province two desalination units with a capacity to process 22,500 cubic meters of saline water a day are up and running and one more will become operational in summer, head of the provincial Water and Wastewater Company said.
“The new plant, built by private companies in the form of BOO (build–own–operate) contracts, is able to produce 35,000 cubic meters of drinking water on a daily basis that is enough for 68,000 people,” ISNA quoted Abdolhamid Hamzehpour as saying.
Saline water processing capacity has increased 12,500 cm/d (from 10,000 cm/d in 2017 to 22,500 cm/d at present) in the region in the last three years. However, more such units are needed to help people in rural areas quench their thirst, he noted.
Regarding the ongoing projects, he said the Dalaki-Vahdatiyeh desalination unit in Dashtestan County is being completed with private sector help. Capable of processing 6,500 cm of saline water per day, it will provide 35,000 people with potable water in the dry region.
“The other venture, Sadabad desalination unit in Dashtestan County that will cost $2.5 million and process 8,500 cubic meters of water a day enough for 43,000 people.”
Authorities in the province as usual dread the onset of summer and the water problems they routinely face during the sizzling months when the mercury rises to nearly 45 degrees Centigrade.
Meteorologists say four decades of satellite data confirm that due to man-made global warming summers are getting hotter, making access to safe drinking water more difficult.
“Bushehr’s water shortage is exacerbated by the province’s reliance on old and cracking pipelines, from which large volumes of water seeps out and never reaches the intended destination.”
Rusty Pipes
According to the official, 80% of Bushehr’s water comes from neighboring provinces (Kohkilouyeh-Boyer-Ahmad) through rusty pipes laid 25 years ago.
“Around 40% of water is wasted due to the pipeline erosion.”
Located in southwestern Iran, the arid Bushehr Province is one the most water-stressed regions. Conditions have become so bad that urban authorities send water tankers to many rural areas to ensure that locals have access to the precious resource.
“The only way we can survive this summer is to speed up the completion of unfinished (desalination) projects.”
To help ensure sustainable supply of water in the years to come, the official said more desalination plants should be set up along Bushehr’s coastal areas off the Persian Gulf.
However, environmental officials do not support use of desalinated water, arguing that the environmental and financial costs of treating saltwater outweigh its benefits in the long run.
At present, there are 73 desalination plants across the country with a capacity to process 420,000 cubic meters of saline water per day and 148 million cubic meters per annum.
Experts say Iran's expanding desalination industry can meet the demand for potable water in several southern cities namely Minab, Jask, Lengeh, Qeshm, Kish, Abu Musa, Deylam, Assaluyeh and Genaveh.
As a result, tapping into the sea to produce clean water is on the Energy Ministry agenda because it is much more viable in maintaining sustainable supplies rather than depleting underground resources, most of which are on the verge of drying up.
According to official data, 18 provinces with nearly 60% of the total population are on the verge of water tension and addressing the worsening water crisis has become a major preoccupation of conservationists and policymakers.
Over 28 million people in Iran (a third of the population) are living in water-stressed regions.
Water scarcity is a permanent global problem. According to End Water Poverty, a global civil society coalition, campaigning to end the water and sanitation crisis, some 600 million people around the world have absolutely no reliable access to clean, safe water year-round.
