Despite expanding Tehran's water supply network by at least 150 kilometers over the last five years, the plan to install emergency water supply tanks is behind schedule, the head of the state-owned Tehran Province Water and Wastewater Company (Abfa) said.
“Around 375 water supply facilities should be installed in the sprawling capital so that if the water supply is cut off by an earthquake or other natural disaster, Abfa can provide people with water in affected areas,” Mohammad Reza Bakhtiari was also quoted as saying by ISNA.
Of the total tanks, only 10 are in place due to financial disputes with previous contractors. Nonetheless, a new contractor has been chosen and plans are underway to install 150 emergency supply tanks by March 2023, he added.
Each tank has the capacity to hold 100 cubic meters of water.
Emergency water storage tanks are located beneath public parks and other open spaces. The water in these tanks is continually kept fresh by circulating fresh water from the city’s pipes through the tank.
The official noted that when all emergency tanks are in place, Abfa can supply the city with water for three to 10 days if an earthquake above 6 degrees on the Richter scale jolts the capital city.
The same plan has already been implemented in Tokyo, Japan, and it is also necessary for Tehran.
“We are struggling to reduce the water loss in the network but cutting it to below 10% costs a lot,” he said.
The water network in Tehran Province stretches over 10,000 kilometers, of which about 2,500 km are decrepit and needs to be replaced.
However, due to financial constraints, Abfa has been unable to repair and replace the aging infrastructure.
The company rehabilitated 600 km of dilapidated pipelines last year.
Bakhtiari said a total of 800 projects worth $450 million are underway to help develop Tehran’s water supply grid.
Tehran Water Ring
About 300 contractors are carrying out local initiatives in different counties, the most important of which is a water supply project in the city of Tehran, dubbed Tehran Water Ring, the Abfa chief said.
The mega project has made 90% progress and is expected to become operational in March 2023, he added.
Work on Tehran Water Ring commenced in mid-2015 and is planned to extend over 8,000 kilometers of pipeline connecting seven water treatment facilities and ensure stable water quality and supply in the capital.
However, the project is facing operational hurdles, notably the difficulty in digging in the capital's tangled network of wells, pipes and tunnels.
According to Bakhtiari, upon the plan's completion, if any of the water treatment plants were to stop working, other plants will replace it in the water supply system.
In the face of persistently low precipitation in the past 15 years, experts have called for greater focus on collecting, treating and reusing water for drinking and farming.
Data show Tehran has registered an average rainfall of 180 millimeters since the beginning of the current water year that will end in Sept. 21, down 100 millimeters compared to a year ago.
Precipitation in the current water year has declined by 35% compared to a year ago.
“Tehran Water Ring will help save about 750 million cubic meters per annum, 400 mcm of which are to be injected into the underground water reserves, 300 mcm will be allocated for agricultural purposes and the rest is planned to be used in urban green spaces,” he said.
Bakhtiari said the project was started from Tehran’s vulnerable southern districts and will extend to the north.
