The sustainable supply of industrial and drinking water is one of the main goals of Khorasan Razavi Regional Water Company, which will be realized within four years, the company’s managing director said.
“A water pipeline has been defined to transfer water from the Sea of Oman to the three provinces of Sistan-Baluchestan, South Khorasan and Khorasan Razavi,” Alireza Taheri was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
The official noted that the project has registered 10% progress so far.
In the first phase set for completion in 2024, desalinated seawater will be delivered from the shores of Chabahar to Sistan-Baluchestan, and then the pipeline will be extended to South Khorasan and Khorasan Razavi provinces. The project includes a pipeline stretching over 1,530 km.
When the project becomes fully operational, an estimated 700 million cubic meters of freshwater will be supplied annually to the three provinces for drinking and industrial use.
A study conducted by the World Resources Institute has ranked Iran as the world's 24th most water-stressed nation, putting it at extremely high risk of future water scarcity.
The three provinces have long been suffering from acute water shortages. Environmentalists and experts say water transfer from the Sea of Oman through pipelines to the parched and water-stressed regions is the last option to tackle the water crisis.
The implementation of the water project from the coasts of Chabahar to the three eastern provinces of Iran is considered a big leap in the country's water industry, as it will promote prosperity, job creation and sustainable water supply.
Persian Gulf Water Transfer
A similar project has already been launched for transferring the Persian Gulf water to central Iran for industrial use.
A water transfer line has been laid from the Persian Gulf to Hormozgan, Kerman and Yazd provinces for supplying water to their industrial sectors.
The first phase of the plan was launched in 2020 and supplied water to Golgohar Mining and Industrial Complex in Sirjan, Kerman. It included a desalination unit (in Bandar Abbas), 10 pumping stations, 40 water storage tanks, 14 power substations and a 150-kilovolt power transmission line from Hormozgan to Kerman and Yazd.
The second phase of the project to divert water from the Persian Gulf to Kerman and Yazd provinces has registered over 70% progress. It included an 850-km pipeline to annually transfer 180 million cubic meters of desalinated water from the Bandar Abbas Desalination Plant in southern Hormozgan Province to Sarcheshmeh Copper Mine in Rafsanjan County, Kerman Province, and the Chadormalu Mining and Industrial Company in Ardakan County, Yazd Province.
Of the total volume of planned water transfer, Golgohar Complex, Sarcheshmeh Copper Mine and Chadormalu Company will annually receive 45 mcm, 40 mcm and 30 mcm, respectively. The rest will be used for drinking purposes in the dry region.
With the completion of the new phase, other industries in Yazd Province will also be provided with water from the Persian Gulf and reduce their dependence on groundwater, the level of which has declined in recent years.
On average, 1 billion cubic meters of water are extracted from groundwater resources in Yazd every year, resulting in severe water deficits in most plains.
Groundwater overdraft can lead to the destruction of vegetation, increase the threat of dust storms, create sinkholes in the plains, raise the salt content in groundwater and worsen land subsidence.
Yazd is in the center of Iran where two deserts, Dasht-e-Kavir and Dasht-e-Lut, meet. It has dry and arid climate and suffers from chronic drought. The province has an annual precipitation of 49 millimeters and only 23 days of rainfall.
