Close to 50% of Hormozgan Province's water are supplied through desalination and the rest is provided by surface and groundwater resources, managing director of the provincial Water and Wastewater Company said.
“There are 85 desalination units in Iran, of which 48 are in the coastal province that produces 265,000 cubic meters of water per day,” the Energy Ministry’s news portal also quoted Amin Qasemi as saying.
Hormozgan has a population of 1.6 million, and 1.3 million are covered by the provincial water company, he added.
Qasemi said currently, 10 desalination plants with a total capacity of 20,000 cubic meters per day are under construction to supply water to 100 villages in different parts of Hormozgan.
Qasemi noted that with the completion of these projects, more than 75,000 people in rural areas will have access to safe and sustainable water.
Ten desalination projects are underway in Bandar Abbas, Bastak, Daragahan, Parsian, Minab and Sirik, which are expected to come on stream by March 2022.
Hormozgan is a dry province with low rainfall, suffering from a chronic water shortage.
However, according to Qasemi, last year's rainfall in Hormozgan decreased by 95% compared to the previous year’s average, making a bad situation worse.
Iran's annual water consumption is about 100 billion cubic meters, of which less than 100 million cubic meters are produced by desalination plants in coastal provinces, namely Khuzestan, Hormozgan and Bushehr.
Approximately 142 million cubic meters of seawater are desalinated on a daily basis around the globe. However, Iran's share is as little as 500,000 cubic meters per day.
According to Shahin Pakrouh, deputy chief engineer at the National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company (Abfa), dependence on rainwater and river runoff in drought-stricken regions can no longer meet mounting demand.
That is why unconventional water resources, such as reclaimed and desalinated water, have emerged as effective solutions for the sustainable and long-term management of drinking water in parched regions like Hormozgan and Bushehr.
Serious Repercussions
Although desalination is hailed as a positive answer to worldwide water shortages, it is not a fail-safe process and has serious repercussions.
In an age where electricity is becoming increasingly precious, desalination plants have the disadvantage of requiring large amounts of power.
The desalination of each cubic meter of water in Iran costs $1.5 so it must only be used in industries that produce high value-added products like steel.
Brine is the side product of desalination. While the treated water is processed further for human use, the water that is left over, which has a super saturation of salt, must be disposed of. Most desalination plants pump this brine back into the ocean, which presents another environmental drawback.
Ocean species are not equipped to adjust to the immediate change in salinity caused by the release of brine into the area. The super-saturated saltwater also decreases oxygen levels in the water, causing animals and plants to suffocate.
Last but not least, depending on their location, desalination plants can be very costly to construct and operate, with construction costs ranging from $300 million to $2.9 billion.
Drying Aqueducts
The lower precipitation, digging of illegal wells and the improper use of groundwater resources in different parts of the southern province have led to a drop in groundwater levels, which led to the drying up of many rivers, springs and aqueducts, Qasemi said.
This shows the importance of treating seawater to meet the water needs of the province located on the coastline of the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman.
With the sharp decrease in rainfall in the current water year (started September 2020), the level of water in dams and underground resources has dropped.
According to the official, some 465 wells as well as 18 springs and aqueducts have dried up. Under the circumstances, desalination plants can help supply water to people, industries and farmers.
Qasemi noted that like in other provinces, underground resources are depleting in Hormozgan and tapping into unconventional water resources, such as seawater, is a necessity.
Villages have been abandoned, hence development of water desalination infrastructure can help curb migration and contribute to sustainable rural development in the dry region.
