Environment
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Van to Urmia Water Transfer Not a Choice Yet

The restoration of the embattled lake is a high priority for the government.
The restoration of the embattled lake is a high priority for the government.

Water transfer from Lake Van in Turkey to the troubled Urmia Lake is not a practical option yet, said Masoud Baqerzadeh Karimi, deputy for wetlands affairs at the Department of Environment.
The explanation was in response to the recent claim by Hadi Bahadori, an Orumiyeh representative in parliament, about preparation to start the project, ISNA reported.
The lawmaker, a former member of Urmia Lake Restoration Project, had earlier said the required studies on the quality of Lake Van's water have been carried out at the University of Maragheh in East Azarbaijan Province, Urmia University in West Azarbaijan and the University of Tehran in the capital. 
He said this is the right time to use Lake Van as a savior of Urmia.  Karimi, however, noted that although inter-basin water transfer from neighboring countries has long been proposed as a potential option, Lake Van has never been officially considered a source.
"Even in that case, feasibility of the project should be first evaluated comprehensively," he said. 

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