Groundwater Extraction a Serious Cause for Concern

On average 50 billion cubic meters of water is extracted from almost 500,000 authorized wells per year, resulting in huge water deficits in most plains, director of the National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company of Iran (Abfa).
“Of this massive volume, 90% is used for farming,” Qasem Taqizadeh Khamesi was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Rapidly declining water resources has compelled the government to increase the number of plains from which water withdrawal is banned from 69 in 1968 to 405 now, he added.
“Banned plains account for 95% of the underground water that is depleting faster than expected.”