Overpopulation in Tehran Province has already strained limited water resources and population growth will be a recipe for disaster, the head of the state-owned Tehran Province Water and Wastewater Company (Abfa) said.
“Tehran is the fifth arid province in Iran and although its population has tripled compared to 40 years ago, its water supplies have not increased proportionally,” Mohsen Ardakani was also quoted as saying by ILNA.
Water sources in the province can barely meet the current need and Abfa’s demographic analysis indicates that uncontrolled population expansion will translate into water tensions in the ever-expanding capital, he added.
Ardakani said although the area’s population rises by a massive 15% every year thanks to ecological migration and childbirth, water supply resources, including dams and water wells, are not increasing.
The number of water subscribers in the province rises by 2.5% annually.
“The rise in population results in higher demand for water not only for domestic, industrial and agricultural, but also for municipal needs,” he said.
Commenting on water stored in dams around Tehran (Taleqan, Latyan, Mamlou, Karaj and Lar), the official noted that the volume has declined by 40% compared to a year ago and now stands at 600 million cubic meters.
“Depleting underground water tables account for 55% of total supplies in the sprawling capital and the rest is extracted from dams,” he said.
There are close to 720 wells in and around Tehran, from which 1.7 million cubic of water are extracted on a daily basis.
Daily water consumption in Tehran is over 3 million cubic meters. Annual consumption growth was near 4% between 2010 and 2019, as the population increased. However, growth reached 11% in 2020.
According to Abfa chief, Tehran accounts for less than 1.1% of the country’s land area, but accounts for 20% of the population and 45% of the industrial base.
Shrinking Resources
Rising water consumption, waste and haphazard urban planning continue to take a toll on the shrinking resources while appeals for judicious consumption have fallen on deaf ears.
Almost 21% of Tehran's water network are over 40 years old while the useful life of water pipelines is an average 25 years.
Ardakani said wear and tear of pipelines in Tehran result in 11% of wastage in the transmission network.
If subscribers do not rethink their imprudent consumption pattern, a significant fall in water pressure in some areas will be inevitable.
The unsustainable consumption pattern seriously threatens water supply in the sprawling capital amid low rainfall and persistent drought.
Desertification, climate change, illegal water wells, wasteful farming practices, water-intensive industries in arid regions and injudicious water use in households are known to have a significant impact on the worsening global crisis.
On the other hand, if current water resources are not properly regulated, an eventual increase in population will become problematic for many regions and countries.
The World Wide Fund for Nature said almost two-thirds of the world’s population could suffer from water shortage by 2025.
Imminent Catastrophe
While the reasons for this imminent catastrophe vary from altered weather patterns to increased pollution, what is cited as perhaps the most important factor influencing this is the uncontrolled population expansion.
The most water scarce areas are typically those with few water resources, high population and even higher population growth rates.
For instance, most of the world’s water scarce areas are located in MENA (The Middle East and North Africa), where they are currently unable to meet their basic water demand. In fact, seven of the world’s top 10 water scarce countries are from the MENA region.
With per capita water availability projected to fall by half by 2050, the situation is likely to be dire in the coming years.
Projections show that by 2035, 3.6 billion people will be living in areas with water stress or scarcity, as population growth causes more countries and regions to become water scarce.
To repress this accelerated loss of natural resources, serious measures need to be taken in order to slow down the rate of population growth.
This can lead to more people accessing clean and safe water universally, in the years to come.
Approximately 2 billion people are currently living in areas facing water stress or scarcity. Water scarcity affects all social and economic sectors and threatens the health of ecosystems.
