Due to a severe drought in South Khorasan, North Khorasan and Khorasan Razavi provinces, most industries and petrochemical plants are opting to tap into unconventional water resources, including reclaimed sewage, to meet their demand, the deputy for engineering affairs at Iran Water and Wastewater Company (Abfa) said.
“Operations to transfer treated wastewater from Bojnourd County in North Khorasan Province to Khorasan Petrochemical Company and the construction of the second phase of Torbat-e Heydariyeh wastewater treatment plant in Khorasan Razavi Province are underway,” Majid Aqazadeh was also quoted as saying by the Energy Ministry’s news portal.
Giving a breakdown, he noted that the Khorasan Petrochemical Company consumes about 5.5 million cubic meters of water annually.
“As the company needs more water for its development plans, and taking into account the limited groundwater resources in the province, the use of treated wastewater is an obligation, not a matter of choice,” he added.
A transmission line is being laid to connect KPC to the wastewater treatment plant.
Located in Bojnourd, the petrochemical plant’s daily production includes 1,000 tons of ammonia, 1,500 tons of urea fertilizer and 60 tons of melamine.
Commenting on similar plans in the parched region, he noted that Torbat-e Heydariyeh wastewater treatment plant’s development project will help increase the plant’s processing capacity to 66 liters per second.
The Abfa official said the output of the plant is expected to supply much-needed reclaimed water to industries in the thirsty region where extraction from renewable water resources has reached alarming levels and at least 25% of what is being consumed now belong to future generations.
The facility is being built with the state-of-the-art technology and its output can be used for irrigating saffron farms.
The water official noted that people in Iran’s most important religious province have not yet recognized the scale and scope of the water crisis.
According to the official, the decline in precipitation, especially in the major saffron producing provinces of South Khorasan, North Khorasan and Khorasan Razavi, has led to a 70% decline in production.
Water Pipeline
According to Alireza Taheri, the head of Khorasan Razavi Regional Water Company, a water pipeline is being laid to transfer water from the Sea of Oman to the three provinces of Sistan-Baluchestan, South Khorasan and Khorasan Razavi.
The official noted that the project has registered 25% progress. 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.
According to Hossein Emami, managing director of South Khorasan Water Company, the region has been facing drought and low rainfall for more than two decades.
“Currently, 32% and over 42% of drinking water are wasted in urban and rural areas, respectively, which are 10% higher than the national average,” he said.
Annual water consumption in South Khorasan is 1 billion cubic meters, of which 900 million cubic meters are used by farmers.
Due to the lack of permanent rivers and disconnection with the sea, water in the border and desert province is supplied from groundwater resources, including wells, springs and aqueducts.
Wells account for 63% of the water need, with 250 mcm from the qanat water systems (underground aqueducts) and the rest from groundwater resources like rivers and dams, which are drying up due to their extensive use for farming and non-agricultural use.
