Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian on Saturday broke ground on a wastewater plant in Roudehen District in Damavand County, 60 kilometers northeast of Tehran.
The project entails the construction of a wastewater facility with a processing capacity of 25,000 cubic meters of sewage per day, the Energy Ministry’s news portal Paven reported.
In addition, a 300-km sewage collection network will be established.
Using an activated sludge method, the plan will cover an estimated 154,000 people upon completion.
The expansion of wastewater network has been prioritized in the sprawling capital in recent years, but mismanagement and haphazard urban expansion have slowed and at times hampered the process.
“Of the total 16 counties in Tehran Province, eight either lack wastewater plants and sewage network, or their infrastructure is incomplete,” the minister added.
Counties lacking sewerage systems include Qarchak, Varamin, Damavand and Firouzkouh and the network in Pakdasht, Eslamshahr, Shemshak and Baharestan counties has not been completed.
“If we really want a decent future for Tehran Province, it is essential to seal depleting water wells used by farmers and supply their needs with reclaimed wastewater,” Aziz Abdolzadeh, the head of Varamin’s Department of Environment, said.
“Lack of a network to collect wastewater and transfer it to treatment plants means that a part of crops grown around Tehran are fed by untreated sewage.”
Tehran Wastewater Network
According to the minister, Tehran’s wastewater network development plan, dubbed Tehran Water Ring System, has registered 80% progress and will be launched in 2023.
“Close to 7,800 kilometers of pipelines have been laid in and around Tehran to connect the network to wastewater plants under construction in the south and west of the city,” he said.
“Expansion of wastewater network has been a priority, but lack of funds and rapid expansion of urban areas have slowed the process. So far, 60% of the residents are connected to the sewage network, and as soon as it is fully operational, close to 11 million will be covered by the grid.”
Tehran Province Water and Wastewater Company is the main contractor of Tehran Water Ring System project that seeks to provide residents with clean water and improve the quality of potable water in all urban areas.
Work on the project started in 2015 and includes 8,000 km of pipelines connecting seven water treatment facilities to ensure water quality in the ever-expanding capital.
Tehran’s wastewater collection grid will save about 750 million cubic meters of water per annum, 400 mcm of which will be pumped into underground water tables, 300 mcm will go for farming and the rest to water green spaces.
According to the official, eight wastewater plants with a treatment capacity of 235,000 cubic meters of water per day are under construction in nine counties of the capital, namely Qarchak, Varamin, Pakdasht, Qods, Baharestan, Rudbar-e Qasran, Damavand and Firouzkouh.
Based on long-term development programs, Tehran’s wastewater network should have been completed by 2022 at an estimated cost of $100 million.
Upon completion, 250 mcm of recycled water will be added to water reservoirs for use in agricultural farms and industrial facilities. Tehran’s water reserves amount to 1.06 billion cubic meters, 70% of which come from surface waters and 30% from groundwater resources.
