Despite all completed and ongoing water projects in Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, water quality in the southern oil city has not improved, the head of the Water Affairs Faculty at Shahid Chamran University in Ahvaz said.
“It is impossible to drink tap water in the city without using water filtration systems,” Mehdi Qomshi was also quoted as saying by ISNA.
The quality of water in this area is much worse than in other large cities of Iran and residents are wondering whether the chronic issue will be ever resolved, he added.
Referring to Ghadir Water Supply Project that is underway in the province, he noted that the plan has made less than 50% progress after 15 years and close to $1 billion have been invested in the venture so far.
“Nonetheless, we are still facing the same problems of 15 years ago and water quality is getting worse,” he said.
According to the official, parliamentarians are totally oblivious to the fact that close to 2 million people in the city are deprived of potable tap water and “as long as we keep silent, nobody will take our problem seriously.”
Healthcare personnel have warned households to purify the running water prior to drinking, but neither local authorities nor high-ranking officials care about the life-and-death struggle.
Years of shortages have pushed locals over the edge and from time to time groups of angry residents demand clean water and warn those in charge of the rapidly worsening disaster.
Gheyzaniyeh is the biggest of the three districts in Ahvaz and is crisscrossed by main roads from Ahvaz to Mahshahr, Ramshir and Ramhormoz. It is close to Karoun River, one of the biggest in Iran and the only navigable waterway in the country.
For years, the area has been lacking drinking water. Local residents in Gheyzaniyeh say there are at least 300 oil wells in the region, but the people have been suffering from water shortage for years.
Health Hazards
Despite the health hazards, an estimated 400,000 liters of water are supplied by tankers daily to residents.
Homes at the far end of Gheyzaniyeh have very limited running water and people spend several hours in long lines to get water from tankers.
According to provincial authorities, around 700 small towns and villages in the oil-rich region have difficulty getting water, especially in the summer when people are forced to remain indoors as the mercury hovers around 55 degrees Celsius.
According to Mohammad Reza Karami-Nejad, the head of the provincial water and wastewater company, operations to complete Ahvaz sewage collection network in Khuzestan Province are on track and will become operational in December.
“Upon completion, close to 80,000 cubic meters of industrial and municipal effluents that now flow into the world-famous Karoun River will be collected and diverted to Ahvaz East Wastewater Treatment Plant, with a daily capacity of 112,000 cubic meters.”
The wastewater treatment facility was launched in 2018. But due to the incomplete wastewater infrastructure in the region, only 20,000 cubic meters of effluent are recycled at the plant per day.
Ahvaz is divided into eastern and western parts via the Karoun River that provides water for farming and industries.
“On a yearly basis, 100,000 cubic meters of wastewater are produced in the eastern flank of the key oil city, of which only 20% are recycled and the rest is discharged into the river and the stench has made life miserable for residents in and around the city,” the official said.
