Due to consecutive years of drought and low precipitation in the last water year (ended Sept. 23, 2022), the province’s dire water situation is worrisome, managing director of Tehran Regional Water Company said.
“Tehran dams currently have about 421 million cubic meters of water, which shows a 20% decline compared to this time last year, when the figure was around 520 mcm,” the Energy Ministry’s news portal also quoted Behzad Parsa as saying.
“Energy Ministry data show 207 millimeters of rainfall were registered in the last water year [Sept. 2021-22], down 25% compared to the water year two years ago [Sept. 2020-2021],” he added.
Referring to a wave of flash floods that hit Tehran in July, Parsa noted that heavier-than-usual monsoon rains added close to 18 million cubic meters to the province’s dam reservoirs.
Dams supplying water to Tehran include Taleqan, Latyan, Mamlou, Karaj and Lar. The five dams together can hold 2 billion cubic meters of water, but the water stored in them now is less than 30% of their total capacity.
Almost 30% of potable water demand in the province can be met through dams and the rest must be extracted from underground resources, which are already in a bad state.
Giving a breakdown on water stored in Tehran’s dams, the official pointed out that Taleqan and Karaj dams have 281 million cubic meters of water, down 183 mcm compared to the previous year.
“Latyan, Mamloum and Lar dams now hold 133 mcm, indicating a reduction of 275 mcm compared with a year ago. Snow cover in the mountain basins around Tehran has declined compared to last year, exacerbating the critical condition of dams,” he said.
“Drought is here to stay and we, like our ancestors, have no choice but to adjust ourselves to the situation. Agricultural patterns must change and cultivation of water-intensive products should be banned.”
High Consumption
According to Parsa, consumption is very high, as about 3.5 mcm of water are being used per day in Tehran, which has complicated the issue and the potable water system is under pressure.
According to global standards, a four-member family's average water use is 15 cubic meters per month, whereas in Tehran it is 30 cubic meters for almost 40% of households.
The official said despite the decline in the water level of dams and high consumption, efforts are being made not to disrupt the water supply of any sector.
“Around 1.2 billion cubic meters, or about 18% of the country's water, are consumed in Tehran annually,” he said, stressing that Tehran's subscribers need to reduce their consumption by 10% so that the water authority is not compelled to ration water.
If subscribers do not rethink their imprudent consumption pattern, a significant fall in water pressure in some areas will be inevitable.
The unsustainable consumption pattern seriously threatens water supply in the sprawling capital amid low rainfall and persistent drought.
Desertification, climate change, illegal water wells, wasteful farming practices, water-intensive industries in arid regions and injudicious water use in households are known to have a significant 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, such that the city is using 150 mcm of renewable water more than necessary.
Subsidized Water
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 4 cents while supplying the same to rural areas costs higher.
The Energy Ministry’s data show close to 30 million people are struggling with varying degrees of water scarcity and related challenges.
Iran is experiencing unprecedented climate-related problems such as desiccation of lakes and rivers, dust storms, high temperatures, droughts and floods.
Recent studies have found that compared to 1980–2004, Iran is likely to experience extended periods of extreme temperatures in the southern parts of the country, extended periods of dry as well as wet spells, and higher frequencies of floods.
In Iran, a country dominated by an arid and semi-arid climate, significant climate anomalies have been observed over the past decade.
Along with management-related issues, Iran faces many disasters from the shrinking of a significant number of lakes and rivers, to land subsidence, floods and droughts.
Iran’s groundwater resources are in extremely critical condition because of overexploitation and the country ranks among the top groundwater miners in the world.
All water treatment plants in Tehran are working round the clock at full capacity, but residents in some regions (especially southern areas) have faced difficulty regarding water pressure.
As consumption rises, the quality of water in taps will suffer, but there is a red line (nitrate level) that cannot be violated under any condition, as it can endanger people’s life.
