The chief executive of Tehran Regional Water Authority says almost half of the water Tehran Municipality pumps from wells in the city is illegal. In a report by the Persian daily Sharq on Monday, Khosro Erteqaei added that TM is permitted to withdraw a maximum of 130 million cubic meters of water annually, but the municipality withdraws about 200 million cubic meters.
“We’ve issued multiple warnings, but to no avail. If this continues, we’ll be forced to take legal action and may even seal their wells,” he said. The water is mainly used to irrigate the city’s green spaces.
Erteqaei, who is also a deputy energy minister, said the main problem is that parks and green spaces in every city use more water than they need, which not only takes a toll on the country’s dwindling water reserves, but their unregulated use also turns pavements and streets into waterways.
“In a letter to the municipality, we urged them to be mindful of their water use and suggested planting species that require less water, but it ignored our pleas,” he said.
