The project to supply water from Azad Dam in Kurdestan Province to Sanandaj, the provincial capital, has registered more than 90% progress and will be launched soon, director of the project said.
“The water supply project seeks to improve the quality and quantity of drinking water supply to Sanandaj,” Mehr News Agency also quoted Habibollah Ali Asghari as saying.
“The total length of the water transmission line from Azad Dam to Sanandaj is about 60 kilometers. When completed, it can transfer 57 million cubic meters of water to Sanandaj water treatment plant annually and help the 400,000 people in the region have access to high quality and sustainable drinking water,” he added.
According to the official, all the design, construction and installation stages of the project have been carried out by Iranian specialists and domestic manufacturers.
The project is estimated to cost $20 million.
With a capacity of 300 mcm, Azad Dam is built on the Gura River 75 km from Sanandaj-Marivan Road. Water from the dam will also be supplied to the Qorveh and Dehgolan plains and used to generate electricity at the 10-megawatt hydroelectric power plant.
One 87-km canal connecting the dam to Qorveh and Dehgolan towns will supply water for farming in the two towns. Water tables in the region have plunged by over 18 meters due to the excessive use by the farming communities.
In addition to supplying water to Sanandaj, Qorveh and Dehgolan, plans are underway to supplement water delivery to six other cities in the province from different dams, which need $80 million in new funding.
With the completion of projects in Marivan, Yasukand, Bijar, Baneh, Saqqez and Kamyaran, close to one million people will get access to potable water.
Currently, 60% of the water for Kurdestan Province are supplied from surface and dam water, and 40% via groundwater resources.
Kurdestan is a mountainous region and home to many rivers, lakes, glaciers and caves. It has a population of 1.6 million who are largely involved in agriculture and livestock farming.
Wheat, barley, grains and fruits are its major products. Industries in the region include chemicals, metal, textiles, leather and food.
The entire urban population of Kurdestan and over 80% of the rural dwellers have access to safe drinking water.
In related news, the Energy Ministry news portal Paven has reported that the project to develop Sanandaj Wastewater Treatment Plant is underway and will be completed by the end of the current Iranian year (March 2023).
The plant has a treatment capacity of 99,000 cubic meters per day for a population of 465,000 people. The development program seeks to increase the capacity to 150,000 cubic meters per day for 700,000 people.
