Mojen Dam in Shahroud County, Semnan Province, which overflowed two years ago due to good rainfall in the region, is currently about half empty.
The dam has a capacity to hold 4.8 million cubic meters of water, ISNA reported.
However, with a 45% decline in rainfall in the current wet year, which started in September, in Semnan compared to last year, the volume of water stored in the dam has declined to 2.6 mcm.
Constructed on Mojen River in 2018, the dam has been designed to provide water for farmlands in the region. Wheat, saffron, apricot and grapes are among the agricultural products.
According to statistics provided by the meteorological organization of Semnan, 108.7 millimeters of rainfall have been registered in the province since the beginning of the water year, which shows a decrease of 45% compared to the same period of the previous water year.
The reduction in precipitation, which has afflicted the whole country, is evident in almost all dams across Iran, including Mojen Dam that is now about 55% full.
Lower rainfall has also led to a decline in groundwater resources, which is a major source of water supply in the province.
Almost 1.2 billion cubic meters of water are produced annually in Semnan, 70% of which come from groundwater resources and with the level of water dropping in them as well as dams, the province faces an annual deficit of 450 mcm of water.
Besides problems regarding supply of water for both drinking and agricultural purposes, declining groundwater levels in the long run can damage infrastructure, including roads.
There are 18,000 hectares of agricultural lands in Shahroud, which constitute 24% of the farmlands of Semnan Province. Furthermore, there are 14,500 hectares of gardens in Shahroud, which amount to 32% of the total gardens of the province.
According to the chief executive officer of Iran’s Water Resources Management Company, Mohammad Haj-Rasouliha, Iran should maintain a policy of building no new embankments until its current dam projects are complete.
"There are no plans to build new dams and those which will help supply people with potable water have been given priority," he added.
He said 108 dams are under construction, of which 29 will help provide drinking water, adding that dams with 25% progress will have a higher priority for completion.
Haj-Rasouliha said the budgets of these ventures are not sufficient and contractors are under financial pressure.
Iran's dam building capacity has significantly improved in the past three decades, as about 200 contracting companies, 70 consultant firms and 30 corporations as well as hundreds of hydroelectric manufacturing units having been established.
Over the past three decades, it has built 600 dams, an average of 20 a year, to irrigate farms and provide electricity.
