About 750 villages with more than 20 households in Kerman Province do not have access to drinking water and another 500 villages suffer from water stress, the managing director of Kerman Water and Wastewater Company said.
“Projects are underway to supply water to 669 villages at a cost of $23 million and over 1,500 kilometers of pipelines should be laid as part of the project,” Alireza Abdian was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
However, as the project may take some time to complete, the company is drilling eight wells to address the water shortage during the summer, he added.
The official noted that when they become operational in two weeks, the wells will compensate a part of Kerman's water deficit so that we can pass the summer with the least challenges.
“More than 90% of Kerman's water are tapped for agriculture and nearly 4% of the province's water are used by households. There are more than 30,000 agricultural wells in the province and only 900 wells supply drinking water,” he said.
The construction of Kerman water treatment plant has made 70% progress and is expected to become operational in the fall. The facility will have a capacity of processing 3,000 liters per second.
The water transfer project from Nesa Dam to rural areas of Bam and Baravat has also progressed by 55%.
The initiative, aimed at supplying village dwellers in the region with quality piped water, is expected to come on stream by December.
Close to 60 km of pipeline have been laid and operations to build a pumping station and a water treatment facility are underway.
About $20 million have been spent so far and $50 million are needed to complete the plan on time.
The same pipeline will be used to transfer piped water to other rural districts in Narmashir, Rigan and Fahroj counties.
“We don't have any other source of drinking water, except groundwater resources, so we have to dig wells,” Abdian said.
However, considering the depletion of groundwater resources, there are other plans underway to supply sustainable water to the province.
Referring to the long-term plans, the official said water for the northern cities of Kerman Province will be supplied from the Persian Gulf and water for cities in the south parts will be supplied from the Sea of Oman.
Although water transfer from the Persian Gulf to Sirjan in Kerman Province eased the water crisis in industries like Golgohar Mining and Industrial Complex, other parts of the region are still suffering from a chronic shortage.
