The total rainfall in Khorasan Razavi Province has been 98.8 mm since the beginning of the current water year (Sept. 23, 2022), which is 31% lower than last year’s corresponding period when 143 mm of precipitation were registered in the northeastern province, the managing director of the provincial regional water company said.
“The long-term [30 years] average rainfall in the province has been 181 mm and the current figures show a 45% decrease,” Alireza Taheri was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
“Conditions are more worrying in Mashhad, the provincial capital, where only 70 mm of rainfall have been recorded so far. This is while in last year’s corresponding period, we had 160 mm of rain, which shows precipitation has declined by 56% compared to a year ago. It has also been down 70% compared with the long-term average of 206 mm,” he added.
Taheri said there are 35 dams in the province, four of which supply water to Mashhad.
“With a storage volume of 32.8 million cubic meters of water, Torogh Dam currently has only 12.6 mcm of water,” he said.
“The total volume of Kardeh Dam in north Mashhad is 26 mcm, but it only contains 5.8 mcm of water at present. The Ardak Dam, located in northwest Mashhad, currently has 30.3 mcm of water, which indicates that it is only 29% full.”
Doosti Dam
Referring to the Iran–Turkmenistan Friendship Dam (also known as Doosti Dam) as the main dam in eastern Iran with a capacity of 1.220 mcm, he said the dam only has 37 mcm of usable water and Iran's share of this water is just 11%.
According to an agreement between Iran and Turkmenistan and due to the low level of water in the dam, its water won’t be used in agriculture and will only be used for drinking purposes.
Located 170 km from Mashhad, the Doosti Dam is situated on Hariroud river, which forms part of the international boundary between Iran and Turkmenistan.
The dam was completed in 2004, and both countries agreed that each would have an equal right to the waters of the river. It was officially opened in 2005.
So far, the dam has supplied water for irrigation and drinking purposes to surrounding areas.
Hariroud or Herat River flows across 1,100 kilometers from the mountains of central Afghanistan to Turkmenistan, where it forms the Tejend oasis and disappears in the Karakum Desert. Part of this river also flows into Iran.
Iran and Turkmenistan have built dams and canals on the river since 2004. The construction of Iran–Turkmenistan Friendship Dam provoked Kabul to build another dam, Afghan-India Friendship Dam, on the same river as it felt its water resources are being plundered. Consequently, the water behind Doosti Dam declined drastically.
Treated Wastewater
Continuous drought in recent years has caused serious challenges regarding water supply to Mashhad, because of which about 25% of the city’s water needs are expected to be provided by treated wastewater in the next 20 years.
About 82% of the metropolis are connected to the wastewater collection network. Mashhad is one of the pioneers in using treated wastewater, as the city used it in the agricultural sector about 15 years ago.
Projects with a total investment of $150 million are underway by the private sector, including the construction of wastewater treatment plants and expansion of the sewerage network.
The treated wastewater will be used in green spaces and industries, as well as mining and service sectors. This way, more drinking water can be supplied to the domestic sector.
Currently, the water requirement of Mashhad's green space is 25 million cubic meters per year. However, only about 3 mcm of the effluent in the city are currently used for watering green space, which will reach 7 mcm soon.
When all the ongoing projects are complete, 25 mcm of treated wastewater will be supplied to the urban green space annually.
