Millions Move Out as Water Crisis Deepens

Dwindling underground water resources have forced 20 million people from small towns and villages to the countryside in the last two decades, deputy head of the Underground Water Resources Protection Unit of Iran Water Resource Management said.
“Iran’s water deficit is about 130 billion cubic meters and if this issue is not addressed, the damage will be irreversible,” Abdollah Fazeli Farsani was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Water is being pumped out much faster than it can be naturally replenished, he warned.
Underground resources play a key role in meeting demand for potable water and farming, but unchecked consumption is sucking the aquifers dry, he noted.