Transferring reclaimed wastewater to Urmia Lake is a practical solution without environmental costs, which can help revive the troubled inland water body, the head of West Azarbaijan Water and Wastewater Company said.
“The world-famous lake, which has been struggling with a huge water deficit for years, will encounter a critical situation sooner rather than later unless it is supplied with 13 billion cubic meters of treated wastewater annually,” ILNA also quoted Ali Mohammad-Khani as saying.
At present, Urmia Lake holds 3 billion cubic meters of water – down 40% compared to 2019 when it stored 5 bcm. The area of Urmia Lake has dwindled by 300 square kilometers to 3,000 sq. km., he added.
The official noted that with a total investment of $100 million, the company is constructing several treatment plants in cities located in the lake's catchment area, one of which is in Tabriz with a total capacity of processing over 125 million cubic meters of sewage per year.
Operations are also underway in Ajabshir, Bonab and Azarshahr in East Azarbaijan Province.
“The company plans to lay 1,100 kilometers of pipelines and so far, 300 km have been laid,” he added.
The move is in line with the guidelines of Urmia Lake Restoration Project that has tasked towns and cities in the vicinity of the lake’s basin to treat their wastewater and direct it toward the lake.
Referring to the second phase of the wastewater treatment plant in Tabriz, East Azarbaijan Province, he noted that the facility will help raise the inflow of treated wastewater to the troubled Urmia Lake by 150%.
“The new phase will increase the current water flow to the lake to 4 cubic meters per second, or 125 million cubic meters a year,” he said.
“The second phase of the development project, which is 97% complete and set to come on stream in January 2022, is expected to increase the current capacity [130 cubic meters per day] to 207,000 CMD, a large part of which will be diverted to the lake.”
Instead of the conventional activated sludge process, the plant is equipped with step-feed aeration system in which primary effluent enters the aeration tank at several points along the length of the tank, rather than at the beginning or head of the tank.
Effluent Recycling Capacity
Mohammad-Khani said seven wastewater processing units are at varying stages of construction in the province and will significantly raise the effluent processing capacity after completion.
The official said Tabriz is a big city [population 1.6 million] and produces a huge amount of wastewater, the treatment of which could feed the lake despite its long distance from the lake.
Close to 70% of Tabriz's urban areas are connected to the wastewater system.
Developing wastewater facilities are in line with the guidelines of Urmia Lake Restoration Project that has tasked towns and cities in the vicinity of Lake Urmia’s catchment area to treat their wastewater and direct it toward the lake.
An estimated 60 million cubic meters of reclaimed wastewater enter Urmia Lake every year, part of which is from treatment plants in Naqadeh, Urmia, Mahabad, Miandoab, Salmas and Boukan in the northwestern province.
Located between the provinces of East and West Azarbaijan, Urmia Lake is a closed water body fed through 21 permanent and 39 seasonal rivers.
It started to desiccate 10 years ago due to a variety of factors, including the construction of a 15-km causeway to shorten travel time between Urmia and Tabriz cities, and the construction of several dams that have choked off water supply from the mountains on both sides of the lake.
