Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian has underlined the need to expand water treatment projects, especially in drought-hit regions, for tackling water shortage.
Referring to the unprecedented decline in the country's precipitation, Ardakanian added that treatment of wastewater is the most effective solution to manage water demand, especially for industrial consumption, IRNA reported.
The precipitation rate since the beginning of the current water year (started Sept. 23, 2017) has stood at an average of 128.6 millimeters, indicating a drop of 40% compared with last year’s corresponding period. The figure comprises one-third of the global average.
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 be alleviated only by higher precipitation.
Ardakanian said wastewater treatment is the best approach to manage the issue.
"Over 3 billion cubic meters of water are wasted annually, with each cubic meter causing the pollution of 40 cubic meters of usable water. In case necessary measures are not taken, Iran will face an irremediable challenge," he said.
Promising Moves
Ali Asqar Qane', the planning and development deputy of National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company of Iran (Abfa), said last week that plans are afoot to build 40 water and wastewater treatment plants in the current fiscal year (started March 21).
He added that the facilities with have the total treatment capacity of over 1.5 million cubic meters of water and wastewater.
"The plants include 26 units for wastewater treatment, 12 for treating water and two desalination plants, which can significantly enhance the quality of potable water. The treatment plants can treat 1 million cubic meters of water per day," he said.
Currently, Iran 184 operational wastewater treatment plants with an annual output of about 1.2 billion cubic meters.
"Out of Iran's total urban population, 47.6% have been connected to wastewater networks," he said.
However, the existing plants can only treat the sewage generated by 18.5 million people, which accounts for 31-32% of the country's urban population.
According to Ardakanian, over 34 million people in 300 cities are facing water shortage problems, 17 million of whom are living in areas with alarming water situations.
This means that the expansion of wastewater treatment plants is far behind the development of wastewater networks.
Wastewater treatment capacity has increased to nearly 1 mcm/d from 500,000 cm/d four years ago, which is rather trivial compared with the water wastage rate.
