Tehran Province Water and Wastewater Company (Abfa) will cut water supply to high-consuming subscribers as of Oct. 12, the deputy head of Public Relations Office at the provincial company said.
“Maximum consumption level for households in the province is 28,000 liters per month and those who exceed the limit will face immediate supply cuts,” Rasoul Baqeri was also quoted as saying by the Energy Ministry’s news service Paven.
Although heavy consumers account for 5% of total subscribers in Tehran, they have used close to 10% of the total water supplied [32 billion liters] in the last six months, he added.
The official stressed that heavy consumers have to reduce their consumption level by at least 25%, otherwise their water supply will be cut off.
“Tehran Province accounts for 25% of Iran’s total water consumption, which is around 100 billion cubic meters,” he said.
“Close to 500,000 heavy consumers [using more than 28,000 liters per month] have been notified by Tehran Regional Water Company and their supplies will be cut off as of Oct. 12 unless they curb consumption.”
This is while Tehran Province’s population comprises 17.5% of the country’s total population.
“A significant decrease in water pressure has been reported in southern districts of the capital city and the situation will get worse if the uptrend in water use continues.”
Emergency Supply Tanks
Referring to Tehran's emergency water supply tanks, Baqeri said around 375 water supply facilities should be installed in the sprawling capital so that if the water supply is cut off by an earthquake or other natural disaster, Abfa can provide people with water in affected areas.
Of the total tanks, only 10 are in place due to financial disputes with previous contractors. Nonetheless, a new contractor has been selected and plans are underway to install 150 emergency supply tanks by March 2023, he added.
Each water tank has a capacity of 100,000 liters.
Emergency water storage tanks are located beneath public parks and other open spaces. The water in these tanks is continually kept fresh by circulating fresh water from the city’s pipes through the tank.
The official noted that when all emergency tanks are in place, Abfa can supply the city with water for three to 10 days if a magnitude 6 earthquake jolts the capital city.
The water network in Tehran Province stretches over 10,000 kilometers, of which about 2,500 km are decrepit and needs to be replaced.
However, due to financial constraints, Abfa has been unable to repair and replace the aging infrastructure.
The company renewed 600 km of dilapidated pipelines last year.
Baqeri said a total of 800 projects worth $450 million are underway to help develop Tehran’s water supply grid.
About 300 contractors are carrying out local initiatives in different counties, the most important of which is a water supply project in the city of Tehran, dubbed Tehran Water Ring, the Abfa official said.
The mega project has made 90% progress and is expected to become operational in March 2023, he added.
Work on Tehran Water Ring commenced in mid-2015 and is planned to extend over 8,000 kilometers of pipelines connecting seven water treatment facilities and ensure stable water quality and supply in the capital.
Operational Hurdles
However, the project is facing operational hurdles, notably the difficulty in digging through the capital's tangled network of wells, pipes and tunnels.
According to Baqeri, upon the plan's completion, if any of the water treatment plants were to stop working, other plants will replace it.
In the face of persistently low precipitation in the past 15 years, experts have called for greater focus on collecting, treating and reusing water for drinking and farming.
Data show Tehran has registered an average rainfall of 210 millimeters in the last water year that ended on Sept. 21, down 35% compared to a year ago.
“Tehran Water Ring will help save about 750 million cubic meters per annum, 400 mcm of which are to be injected into the underground water reserves, 300 mcm will be allocated for agricultural purposes and the rest is planned to be used in urban green spaces,” he said.
He said the project was started from Tehran’s vulnerable southern districts and will extend to the north.
Dams supplying water to Tehran, including Taleqan, Latyan, Mamlou, Karaj and Lar, together can hold 2 billion cubic meters of water, but now they are less than 30% full.
About 35% 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 bad conditions.
