Equipping water wells with smart meters helped save more than 111 million cubic meters of water in the agro sector in South Khorasan Province in the past year, deputy of protection and operation department at the provincial Regional Water Company said.
“So far 1,850 wells have been equipped with smart meters comprising 89% of the province's agricultural wells. The remaining will get smart by the end of winter,” IRNA quoted Saeed Pourjafar as saying.
Last year 611 mcm of water was extracted from authorized wells, he said, adding: “With the smart meters withdrawals dropped to 500 mcm.”
Iran’s agro sector consumes almost 90% of water.
There are 2,050 authorized wells active in the province, Pourjafar said.
“Over the years that conventional wells were equipped with the smart meters we saw a significant reduction in withdrawals.”
Equipping agricultural wells with smart meters has helped reduce deficits in the province's reservoir. Located in eastern Iran, South Khorasan’s dry climate and desert terrain make farming difficult. An estimated 35% of the population depends on agriculture.
Water scarcity and droughts pose serious threats to the livelihood of farming communities and the economy in many parts of the country, especially in the expansive Khorasan region.
Annual water consumption in South Khorasan is 1 billion cubic meters of which 900 million cubic meters is used by farmers.
Wells account for the largest share of water production at 63%. Close to 250 mcm comes from qanat water systems (underground aqueducts) and the rest from groundwater resources like rivers and dams.
Advantages of Smart Meters
Transforming traditional wells into smart wells has been on the agenda of the Energy Ministry. More smart meters means better and efficient monitoring of power and water consumption.
‘Smart’ or ‘intelligent’ wells are advanced wells with sensors and valves installed downhole to allow easy and systematic monitoring by utilities.
Injudicious use of groundwater from legal and illegal wells has emerged as a major problem in Iran's struggle against the water crisis that has gotten worse over the past half century as precipitation declines and consumption rises.
A smart meter is a modern electricity meter that digitally sends meter readings to energy suppliers and ensures more accurate billing.
Thanks to the new gadgets, consumers are informed about their daily use and adjust consumption. Utilities in many developed and developing countries are promoting advanced electricity meters for economic and environmental reasons, namely to reduce costs and consumption.
Modern Irrigation Systems
Modern irrigation systems are being installed in 10,000 hectares of farmlands in South Khorasan. So far 174,000 hectares of farmlands have been equipped with modern systems since the current Persian calendar year in March.
Of the total 8.7 million hectares of Iran’s total irrigated lands, about 2.4 million hectares are equipped with modern systems to boost productivity and sustainability of water and soil resources plus ensure sustainable production of agricultural products.
