Daily water consumption in Tehran has exceeded 3.6 million cubic meters, which is unprecedented for this time of the year, the deputy head of Operations Department at Tehran Province Water and Wastewater Company (Abfa) said.
“The same figure was recorded in August last year when the temperature hovered around 42°C, but the current uptrend is a matter of concern as the mercury is still below 30°C,” Abdolhossein Majdizadeh was also quoted as saying by ISNA.
He added that at least 40% are supplied by underground resources, but when usage crosses the 3 mcm level, they come under added pressure.
“Abfa has no plans to announce restrictions on water use this summer in Tehran Province unless the unsustainable consumption pattern changes,” he said.
Low rainfall and persistent drought seriously threaten water supply in the sprawling capital.
According to the Abfa official, average annual precipitation in Tehran Province has declined by 50% compared to a few years ago.
“Currently, 632 million cubic meters of water are stored in the dams of Tehran Province, which shows a decline of about 171 mcm compared to this time of last year when the dams held 803 mcm of water,” he said.
“Since May, less than 1 mm of rainfall has been registered in Tehran Province, which shows a decline of 85% compared with the same period of last year.”
The five dams supplying Tehran include Taleqan, Latyan, Mamlou, Amir Kabir and Lar that currently hold 253 mcm, 61 mcm, 66 mcm, 130 mcm and 122 mcm respectively.
Together they can hold 2 billion cubic meters of water, but at present, only 30% of their capacity are full.
Data show Tehran has registered an average rainfall of 180 millimeters since the beginning of the current water year that will end on Sept. 22, down 100 millimeters compared to a year ago.
Precipitation in the current water year has declined by 35% compared to a year ago.
Supply Plight
Pointing to Tehran's water supply plight, Majdizadeh said, “Most people realize the severity of the problem, so they must consume water more responsibly. In short, daily water consumption of Tehran’s residents should not surpass 250 liters.”
“State and private organizations should also be compelled to use water more judiciously to help mitigate the impact of the unprecedented water shortage in Tehran,” he said.
He warned that if the current situation persists, there will be no option but to impose fines on households with high consumption levels.
Some experts and environmentalists denounce a widely-held notion that chronic water shortages can be alleviated only by higher precipitation.
Desertification, climate change, illegal water wells, wasteful farming practices, water-intensive industries in arid regions and the injudicious use of water in households are known to have a far greater impact on the worsening crisis.
Reportedly, there are 13,000 legal and 32,000 illegal water wells in Tehran Province alone.
“Injudicious consumption across Tehran Province over the past 15 years has taken a toll on water resources to such an extent that we’re using 150 million cubic meters of renewable water more than we should,” he said.
Referring to programs for reducing consumption, the Abfa official said households should be encouraged to use domestic water-saving accessories (ranging from shower heads to taps, flush reducers to bathwater diverters) as it can cut consumption by 30%.
Water is heavily subsidized in Iran. While urban consumers pay 43% of its real price, only 23% of the production costs are paid by rural residents.
The production of 1 cubic meter of water for urban use costs 10,000 rials (4 cents) while supplying the same to rural areas costs higher.
"Tehran’s daily consumption of 250 liters per capita is 20% higher than in other Iranian cities and 30% above other megacities with the same population," he said.
Average daily consumption of Istanbul's 13 million population was 2 million cubic meters in 2007 and increased to 3 mcm in 2016 when its population reportedly hit 15 million.
With a population of about 13 million people, Tehran has a 16% share in the country’s total population.
