Low rainfall and excessive withdrawal from wells in Bushehr Province have almost wiped out groundwater resources in the southern region, deputy for conservation affairs at the Bushehr Regional Water Company said.
“Some regions in the province get less than 50 mm of rainfall a year. Moreover, groundwater overdraft, more than 80% of which happens in the agricultural sector, adds to the steep decline in groundwater levels,” IRNA quoted Abdollatif Abbasinejad as saying.
Noting that the province’s annual water deficit is about 30 million cubic meters, he said the worsening water crisis compounded by the decline in groundwater resources is a threat and has led to land subsidence.”
“Five plains in Bushehr shrink by more than a meter every year,” Abbasinejad warned.
Located in southwestern Iran, the arid province is one of the most water-stressed regions. The conditions in the province are so bad that water authorities have to dispatch water tankers to several areas (especially in summer).
The commonly used conventional water resources such as rainwater or river runoff are not adequate to meet growing demand. One effective way to tackle water paucity is to collect and treat unconventional water generated as a by-product of specialized processes such as desalination or need suitable treatment before use for irrigation.
According to Energy Ministry data, Bushehr water consumption in the agriculture, industry and household sectors exceeds one billion cubic meters a year. Water normally comes from surface, groundwater and desalination sources. The main agricultural products in the province include wheat, barley, onions, sesame, tomatoes, eggplants, lemons and dates.
Known as an industrial region, Bushehr is home to major refineries and power plants. The giant South Pars Gas Field is located in the Asalouyeh County.
Iran’s sole nuclear power plant is in this province. The water needed for facilities is supplied from the Persian Gulf that is not included in data provided by the regional water company.
Bushehr is located next to the Persian Gulf. However, due to lack of enough desalination plants a large part of Bushehr’s water comes from neighboring provinces
Currently only two desalination units with a capacity to process 22,500 cubic meters a day are supplying potable water to small towns in the desert province. Two more, with a daily capacity of 45,000 cubic meters are under construction.
Environmental officials do not support use of desalinated water, arguing that the environmental and financial costs of treating saltwater outweigh its benefits and sustainable methods are needed to the address the ever-growing demand for the precious resource.
Seventy plus desalination plants that process 309,000 cubic meters of saline water a day are up and running across Iran.
Of the 71 installations, 54 are in the coastal areas in the south, namely Hormozgan, Bushehr and Sistan-Baluchestan provinces. The rest are in the northern regions including Gilan, Mazandaran and Golestan.
