The construction of the first phase of a water treatment plant in Yasouj, capital city of Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province, has made 97% progress and will soon become operational, the head of the provincial water and wastewater company said.
“With a processing capacity of 200 liters of water per second, the facility will supply safe drinking water to around 100,000 people in the county,” Esfandiar Borkheh was also quoted as saying by the Energy Today website.
Started five years ago, the project was carried out at an estimated cost of $3 million, he added.
The official noted that when the second phase comes on stream, the capacity of the plant will rise by 50% to reach 300 liters per second.
“The construction of Tang Sorkh Dam in Yasouj is expected to be completed by the end of the current Iranian year [March 2023. With a storage capacity of 125 million cubic meters of water, the dam will supply water to Yasouj and the surrounding villages],” he said.
He pointed out that since its construction was started 10 years ago, the project has only registered 50% progress.
The delay has been caused by financial issues and the minister promised that the budget for the project’s completion will be allocated soon.
Borkheh explained that although operations for laying the water pipeline from Tang Sorkh Dam to Yasouj have not started yet, it is expected to be completed by the end of the next fiscal year (March 2024) to transfer water to the southwestern city.
Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad has a population of 713,000 people, about 12% of which, equivalent to about 80,000 people, are nomads. Yasouj and its suburban areas have a population of about 250,000 people.
Nomadic Households
According to Jamal Motamedi-Zadeh, managing director of the provincial power distribution company, a total of 1,100 portable solar power systems were delivered to nomadic households in Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province last year.
“Each solar plant can generate 100 watts of electricity and power at least five low-energy light bulbs, a flashlight and a cellphone.”
Solar panels generate sufficient power to help households meet their needs in the middle of a plain or a desert.
“Ten percent of the cost of the solar power plants were paid by the families and the rest was financed by the government,” Motamedi-Zadeh said.
“We hope that the expansion of clean and renewable energy consumption will reduce the destructive effects of using fossil fuels in the southwestern province.”
Promoting renewable sources of energy by supplying nomads with mobile photovoltaic panels is on the government agenda to ensure their access to uninterrupted electricity during their journeys.
Twice a year, nomads move from one place to another in search of pasture and water for cattle, set up tents and nurture livestock.
Domestic companies manufacture the PV systems and deliver to the relevant organizations for installation.
Rapid urbanization and expansion of cities have dwindled the population of nomads who mostly straddle the regions of Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad, South Khorasan, Fars and Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari provinces.
Data show that nomads made up almost one-fourth of Iran's population a century ago, which figure has dwindled to barely 2% of the total population of around 85 million.
