A water supply tunnel project in southern Kerman Province has been halted by judicial order, the provincial governor general said.
“The project to transfer drinking water from Safaroud Dam in Rabor County to the provincial capital Kerman with a population of 800,000 was supposed to become operational in August, but now its future is in doubt,” Ali Zeinivand was quoted as saying IRNA.
Before the plan was put on hold, it had registered 70% progress, he said and added that the National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company (Abfa) has so far invested $25 million in the scheme.
“Helping alleviate shortage of drinking water was the goal of the project in this region that has been grappling with low precipitation and drought for years.”
If completed, the 38 kilometers long and 3.9 meters wide tunnel will transfer 21,000 liters of fresh water per second from Safaroud Dam to Kerman.
Opponents of the plan, namely Mohammad Reza Pourebrahimi, a member of the Majlis Economic Commission, say diverting water from the dam is a recipe for disaster as it will cut off water flow to Halilroud on which the livelihood of many farmers depends on the southern flank of the arid province.
Moreover, when the project is complete Jazmourian wetland, one of the two major wetlands in southeast Iran, will reportedly dry and cause permanent damage to the unique geological formations in a region that is home to a variety of flora and fauna, the MP argued.
“This project may help the capital grow but will ruin some other parts of the province. It should have stopped long ago (in 2013),” Pourebrahimi has been quoted as saying.
Late Intervention
It is rather strange why a project should continue for seven years and then some seemingly unknowledgeable officials from the judiciary and parliament come to the conclusion that construction permits should not have been granted for the project in the first place.
Dissenting voices notwithstanding, the province's governor general insists that the plan should continue and it is possible to complete the dam without harming the ecosystem.
Furthermore, water demand in Kerman is 3,000 liters per second while maximum water supply capacity is 1,850 liters. Drinking water comes largely from groundwater sources and the city is waiting for the completion of the dam.
Kerman Province drinking water is provided through 400 authorized wells, three springs, eight aqueducts and two dams via a 10,000-km distribution network.
The abundance of illegal water wells is another serious concern for environmentalists and economic experts.
Digging Deeper
Large amounts of water is withdrawn from deep wells dug much deeper every year due to rising demand and dwindling groundwater levels, Ebrahim Alizadeh, managing director of Kerman Regional Water Company said.
Despite regular warnings and sealing many illegal wells, excessive withdrawals from aquifers continues in the key agriculture sector seen by many observers as economically and environmentally unviable.
“An estimated 2.8 billion cubic meters of water is withdrawn annually from the drought-stricken aquifers,” Alizadeh says.
Over 5,000 illegal wells have been sealed in 13 years in the central province that helped save 270 million cubic meters of water, he added.
Installing smart water meters and encouraging farmers to embrace modern irrigation methods and avoid water-intensive crops are among recent measures implemented in the province.
“More than 4,000 smart meters were installed on agricultural wells in the past six years”, Alizadeh noted.
Located in the dry and arid regions with below minimum precipitation, Kerman, like many other provinces, has been struggling with drought for years.
According to Iran’s Meteorological Organization, approximately 97% of the country is experiencing drought conditions. Rivers and lakes are drying very fast.
According to published reports, water depletion in Iran is one of the highest in the world, and the government expects a 25% decline in surface water runoff by 2030. The UN estimates that between the 1970s and the year 2000, groundwater extraction almost quadrupled, while the number of wells rose fivefold in Iran. In 2017 more than 540 cities were on the brink of water stress, and the problem worsened in 2018.
