Operations to complete Ahvaz sewage collection network in Khuzestan Province are on track and will become operational next year, the head of the provincial water and wastewater company said.
“Upon completion, close to 80,000 cubic meters of industrial and municipal effluents that now flow into the world-famous Karun River will be collected and diverted to Ahvaz East Wastewater Treatment Plant, with a daily capacity of 112,000 cubic meters,” Mohammad Reza Karami-Nejad was also quoted as saying by ILNA.
The wastewater treatment facility was launched in 2018. But due to the incomplete wastewater infrastructure in the region, only 20,000 cubic meters of effluent are recycled at the plant per day.
Ahvaz is divided into eastern and western parts via the Karun River that provides water for farming and industries.
“On a yearly basis, 100,000 cubic meters of wastewater are produced in the eastern flank of the key oil city, of which only 20% are recycled and the rest is discharged into the river and the stench has made life miserable for residents in and around the city,” the official said.
“Funding to complete the network in the eastern part of the city [$56 million] has been made available through the National Development Fund of Iran, the sovereign wealth fund.”
He said operations to complete the sewage collection network are underway and it will be completed and connected to the Ahvaz East Wastewater Treatment Plant next year.
The completion of the project will revive 7,000 hectares of farmlands in Ahvaz.
In addition to meeting a part of the water requirement for farming and industries, treatment plants help preserve the environment.
Collecting and treating wastewater are essential to protect the environment otherwise it will contaminate underground water.
Karami-Nejad noted that while the country grapples with a worsening water crisis, less than 25% of the wastewater are recycled due to poor infrastructure.
