Qanats Are Indispensable for Yazd

Of the 6,500 qanats in Yazd Province 3,870 are no more usable, the provincial head of technical affairs department of the Agricultural Jihad Organization, affiliated to the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad, said.
“Due to digging deep water wells, drought, floods and poor rehabilitation, many qanats have fallen into disrepair or have simply dried up,” IRNA quoted Abbas Besharati as saying.
By and large, close to 20% of the desert province’s water for farming comes from 2,630 qanats that help irrigate 30,000 hectares of farmlands and fruit gardens in Ashkezar, Abarkuh Zarch, Taft, Ardakan and Herat, Besharati said.
As the water crisis worsens the volume of water that can be extracted from the subterranean infrastructure is decreasing uninterruptedly.
“In the 2018-19 crop year, a period from one year's harvest to the next close to 170,000 liters of water was taken from qanats daily. In 1998 it was at least 400,000 liters a day.”