Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian inaugurated the first phase of the Tehran Comprehensive Water Supply Plan, dubbed Tehran Water Ring System, that was launched in mid-2015 to extend pipelines by over 230 kilometers for connecting seven water treatment facilities in the region.
“The project is aimed at supplying quality and stable water to all the residents of different districts of the sprawling capital,” the minister was quoted as saying by the Energy Ministry’s news portal.
Giving a breakdown, he added that the first phase entailed laying a 60-km-long water pipeline, in addition to installing six emergency water storage tanks.
Six storage tanks, which can hold 140,000 cubic meters of water, cost $100 million and are located in different districts with a capacity of 15,000-30,000 cubic meters, he added.
Despite expanding Tehran's water supply network by at least 250 kilometers over the last five years, the plan to install emergency water supply tanks is behind schedule.
“Around 375 water supply facilities should be installed in the sprawling capital so that if the water supply is cut off by an earthquake or other natural disaster, the state-owned Tehran Province Water and Wastewater Company [Abfa] could continue to supply water in affected areas,” the minister said.
“Of the total tanks, only 10 are in place due to financial disputes with previous contractors. Nonetheless, a new contractor has been chosen and plans are underway to install 150 emergency supply tanks by March 2025.”
Mehrabian said emergency water storage tanks are located beneath public parks and other open spaces. The water in these tanks is continually kept fresh by circulating fresh water from the city’s pipes through the tank.
Emergency Tanks
The minister noted that when all the emergency tanks are installed, Abfa can supply the city with water for three to 10 days if an earthquake above 6 degrees on the Richter scale jolts the capital city.
The same plan has already been implemented in Tokyo, Japan, and it is also necessary for Tehran.
While water in the northern parts of Tehran is supplied from surface water, low quality groundwater resources meet the needs of southern parts. With the completion of the new system, high quality water will be supplied from surface resources.
Mehrabian announced that with the launch of the ring system, water from treatment plants will enter one pipeline and be distributed with equal quality to all 22 districts.
The mega project is near completion and will come on stream next summer to meet growing demand in the ever-expanding metropolis, he said.
Under the plan launched in mid-2015, 180 kilometers of pipelines have been established to connect seven water treatment facilities and ensure stable water quality and quantity to the sprawling capital that has expanded in all four directions over the past half century.
Upon completion, if one water treatment plant is out of service, other plants will replace it.
Moreover, if water level in one dam declines at any given time, residents receiving water from that dam will have no problem because the dams have been integrated.
Five dams, namely Amirkabir and Taleqan (in the west) as well as Latian, Lar and Mamlou (in the east), supply water to Tehran. The dams provide 70% of Tehran’s water and the rest is supplied by underground resources.
Tehran Water Ring project has made 85% progress and is expected to become operational in March 2024.
Operational Hurdles
The project is facing operational hurdles, due to the difficulty of digging in the capital's tangled network of wells, pipes and tunnels.
According to Mehrabian, the province is home to an extended network of rivers (3,900 km) and protecting them from “mafia-like” land grabbers has become a colossal task.
“Due to the steep decline in groundwater levels, it is crucial to stop illegal water use in the metropolis. Last year, 1,337 illegal wells were closed and this year 1,400 more will be deactivated,” he said.
The number of unauthorized wells in the area is estimated to be 50,000. Wells in and around Tehran are in a bad condition and experts have warned that the situation will not improve even with good rainfall in one or two years.
Located in one of the world’s most water-stressed regions, Iran’s average precipitation rate has been lower than the global average for at least 10 years. Some experts and environmentalists denounce a widely-held notion that chronic water shortages can only be alleviated by higher precipitation.
Around 1.2 billion cubic meters, or about 18% of the country's water, are consumed in Tehran annually. Tehran's subscribers need to reduce their consumption by 10% so that the water authority is not compelled to ration water.
Desertification, climate change, illegal water wells, wasteful farming practices, water-intensive industries in arid regions and injudicious water use in households have had a significant impact on the worsening crisis.
