Iran Water Industry Federation’s assessments rank the country among the top three with the highest land subsidence rate caused by the substantial decline in groundwater resources, a board member of the privately-owned organization said.
"It is regrettable that despite all warnings issued by domestic and international research institutes, policymakers still insist on pursuing the poor strategies that have been in practice over the last four decades," Reza Hajikarim was also quoted as saying by the Energy Today website.
The official noted that water-intensive industries, especially steel, are expanding in desert areas like Kashan County in the central Isfahan Province, pointing out that steel mill owners are developing their plants in dry areas by buying dry farmlands.
“In other parched regions like Hamedan Plain, thermal power plants are depleting aquifers as they require massive amount of water for their cooling towers,” he said.
“When a plain reaches a critical juncture and starts to subside, reversing the trend will be very time-consuming and it may take 50 years to avert the disaster.”
In other words, even if water extraction from the region is totally banned, subsidence will not stop and only the speed of sinking will decline.
Referring to a short-term plan carried out to help save some endangered plains in Khorasan Razavi Province, Hajikarim noted that the project was aimed at reducing water extraction in the areas, but it failed to serve the purpose as it did not continue.
Drawing a parallel between the current situation in some plains in Iran and California in the US, he said before the area could reach a critical point, American water officials started to modify agricultural patterns and the cultivation of water-intensive crops were totally prohibited to minimize water extraction from underground tables.
They started to tap into treated wastewater resources not only to irrigate their farms but also to provide piped water for citizens.
“None of these practical approaches have ever been adopted in Iran so far and to add salt to injury, the dry plains are sold to steelmakers, which need much more water than farming.”
A Security Issue
According to the official, land subsidence is not just a hazardous geographical phenomenon, but a major security issue, as it can damage all infrastructural facilities, such as highways, airports, bridges and hospitals.
Experts, including Hajikarim, believe the country’s water scarcity will hit crisis level by 2025, when renewable water will be less than 1,000 cubic meters per capita, down from 2,000 cubic meters in 1950.
Economic experts have often warned about the high consumption patterns in the farming sector and are on record that water is being extracted much faster than it can be replenished.
They have also said that large parts of the water-stressed country will turn into barren desert if those in charge don’t change course and rewrite the centuries-old agricultural policies that are unsustainable.
However, all their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. How, when and where things will take a turn for the better remains to be seen
Officials say at least 90% of Iran’s natural water resources have already been depleted to meet domestic needs and relying on natural reserves is now simply a thing of the past.
According to Alireza Shariat, the head of IWIF, importing water from neighboring states, such as Tajikistan and Afghanistan, is neither logical nor feasible to address the water shortage in drought-stricken regions of the central plateau.
"Purchasing water from Tajikistan will cost at least $4 per cubic meter and expecting a politically unstable country like Afghanistan to be committed to its water treaties is utter nonsense," he said.
“Some government officials have suggested that the import of water is on the Energy Ministry’s agenda, as low precipitation and mismanagement of depleting underground resources are taking a heavy toll on the farming sector and industries.”
Tentative Steps
Taking such tentative steps for tackling the country's water problems will only worsen the situation, as measures to supply water at any cost have never produced positive long-term results.
As long as demand is not managed, water imports, or moves like trans-basin diversion schemes, cannot solve the problem.
Shariat said officials’ persistence on pursuing failed policies makes the mind boggle, as there are other viable alternatives, such as using treated wastewater in the agro sector, gray water in households and adopting modern farming techniques, which are widely used all around the world.
According to the official, hydrological studies in the Middle East show Iran will be adversely affected by water shortage in the coming years and there is no time to practice trial and error methods.
“Drawing on developed countries’ experience is the most pragmatic approach and repeating the vicious cycle of trial and error will take us nowhere,” he said.
“Officials may have succeeded in solving some economic issues temporarily, but water is a crucial commodity and failing to tackle the problem fundamentally will result in severe social and economic consequences sooner rather than later.”
