Desalination in the southern Bushehr Province increased 2.5 fold in the past three years but is not enough, head of the provincial Water and Wastewater Company said.
“Two desalination units produce 25,000 cubic meters of saline water a day and one more will come on stream this summer,” the Energy Ministry news portal quoted Abdolhamid Hamzehpour as saying.
The new plant, being built by private companies in the form of build–own–operate (BOO) contracts, will produce 35,000 cubic meters a day to meet the needs of 70,000 people, he said.
Saline water processing has increased from 10,000 cm/d in 2018 to 25,000 cm/d now. However, as the water crisis gets worse extra capacity is needed for rural areas.
Regarding the ongoing projects, he said the Dalaki-Vahdatiyeh desalination unit in Dashtestan County is being completed by private contractors and will produce 6,500 cm of saline water per day.
“Another project, the Sadabad desalination unit in Dashtestan County is designed to process 8,500 cubic meters a day for 45,000 people.”
Authorities dread the onset of summer accompanied by severe water shortages when the mercury rises to 48 degrees Centigrade.
“Bushehr’s water scarcity has worsened due to the ageing pipelines from which large volumes of water is lost in the form of seepage.”
Pipeline Erosion
Almost 40% of water is wasted due to the pipeline erosion and derelict infrastructure.
Located in the southwest, Bushehr is one the most water-stressed regions in Iran. Conditions have become so bad that officials send water tankers to many rural areas.
“The only way we can survive this summer is to speed up the completion of unfinished (desalination) projects.”
Experts say the gradually expanding desalination industry can meet demand in several cities namely Minab, Jask, Lengeh, Qeshm, Kish, Abu Musa, Deylam, Assaluyeh and Genaveh.
Tapping into the sea is on the Energy Ministry agenda because it is more viable in maintaining a sustainable supply rather than depleting the fast dwindling underground resources, most of which are on the verge of disappearing.
Superlatively, ILNA quoted Qasem Taqizadeh Khamesi, the deputy energy minister for water and wastewater affairs, as saying that the National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company of Iran (Abfa) is completing 25 desalination units in the southern areas.
“Fourteen plants are expected to open by July costing $80 million. When completed 259,000 cubic meters of desalinated water will be added to Abfa’s capacity a day reaching 568,000 cm/d.”
Iran’s northern and southern provinces have 2,700 kilometers of marine borders, which gives them huge potential for expanding desalination, he said, and noted that investment in desalination infrastructure will create jobs and help curtail water withdrawal from depleting underground resources.
To tackle the water crisis desalination has emerged as a solution in many countries. In the coastal regions where salt water resources are in abundance, large and semi-large desalination facilities are being built.
