The long-awaited Yasouj water treatment plant in Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province has started the supply of good quality drinking water to around 60,000 residents of the county, the head of the provincial water and wastewater company said.
“With a processing capacity of 200 liters of water per second, the facility was completed in six years at an estimated cost of $4 million,” Omid Salehi was also quoted as saying by the Energy Ministry’s news website.
The development of water supply infrastructures in the underprivileged region is not proportional to the population growth and more funding is required, he added.
According to the official, despite abundant surface water, the absence of water processing plants in the county has caused water tension.
The new treatment plant will temporarily lower water pressure, but the need for similar installations is beyond question, he said.
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.
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 that can power at least five low-energy light bulbs, a flashlight and a cellphone,” he said.
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.
Renewable Energy
The official hoped 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 related organizations for installation.
Rapid urbanization and expansion of cities have dwindled the population of nomads who mostly straddle the provinces of Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad, South Khorasan, Fars and Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari.
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.
“The construction of Tang Sorkh Dam in Yasouj is expected to be completed by the end of the current Iranian year [March 2024]. With a storage capacity of 125 million cubic meters, the dam will supply water to Yasouj and its surrounding villages,” he said.
Motamedi-Zadeh noted 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 government has promised to soon allocate the budget for the project’s completion.
