Following the decline in the volume of water in Zayandehrud Dam, its hydroelectric power plant has stopped operation, the Isfahan Regional Water Company’s deputy of conservation and operations said.
“The only hydropower plant in Isfahan Province was shut down on Wednesday due to water shortage in the dam reservoir,” Mahmoud Chitian was also quoted as saying by Mehr news agency.
According to the latest statistics, there is only 150 million cubic meters of water stored in Zayandehrud Dam while it has a nominal capacity of 1.235 billion cubic meters. The current volume of water in the dam shows that it is currently only 12% full.
Electricity generation in the station depends on the water in the dam and due to the acute water shortage, it cannot produce power.
The 56.5-megawatt hydroelectric power plant adjacent to the dam requires at least 170 mcm of water for operation.
An unprecedented decline in precipitation in the past two water years (September 2020-22), which were among the driest in half a century, caused a steep decline in water stored in hydroelectric dams.
High consumption in the hot summer on the one hand and shortage of hydropower on the other led to blackouts in some urban areas last year.
Hydropower is a renewable energy that is cleaner compared to other power plants. It constitutes almost 12,000 MW of Iran’s total installed power generation capacity of about 86,000 MW.
Established over 50 years ago, Zayandehrud Dam is situated on the famous Zayandehrud river 10 km east of Chadegan in Isfahan Province.
The primary purpose of the dam is to supply water to the ancient and world famous tourist city.
The dam is designed to provide daily drinking water for more than 5 million people in the central province, for agriculture alongside the Zayandehrud river and for heavy industries in the central area of the provincial capital.
In the not-too-distant past, Zayandehrud river had regular and significant water flow, but is almost dry for more than eight months to the detriment of farmers who are largely dependent on the river for their livelihood.
Located in an arid region of Iran with below minimum precipitation, Isfahan, like many other provinces, has been struggling with drought for several years, resulting in the gradual drying up of the Zayandehrud river.
