The recent springtime precipitation does not have a significant effect on the conditions of Urmia Lake as it has not created a flowage, an official with the Urmia Lake Restoration Project said.
As the predictions of Iran's Meteorological Organization about rainfalls over the past two weeks came true, hopes grew that dam reservoirs, wetlands and rivers will be replenished.
However, Masoud Tajrishi, director for planning at ULRP, explained that although the rainfall is generally a good thing, to expect them to revive Urmia is unrealistic as spring rains contain little water despite their long durations.
"This lake and Iran's wetlands in general are not filled up with gentle rains but with floodwater," he said, Zist Online reported.
According to him, only rains that fall constantly for days and finally result in floods that flow toward the catchment area can be promising for wetlands.
"In fact, our wetlands need such precipitation and are never replenished with direct rain [across their surface]," he said, adding that such flooding rains have decreased across the entire country.
Summertime Blues
The official further pointed out that the forecast increase in summer temperatures is expected to lead to a considerable drop in the lake's water reserve.
"Based on IMO's forecasts, this summer will experience a temperature rise of between °1 and 1.5° Celsius, therefore, a decrease in the depth, level and volume of the lake's water is expected by the end of summer," he said.
The depth of water in around 60% of Urmia is less than 60 centimeters which means the lake is rather shallow. Besides, the lake's catchment area is prone to high rates of evaporation, and the inflow is insufficient to make up for the loss.
"We expect that only 30% of Urmia's bed will be covered with water by the end of the current water year (Sept. 22)," Tajrishi said.
Shallow lakes located at the end of the water basin normally face the same challenge. "Their level often increases with a few rainfalls and then decreases again with the arrival of summer due to lack of input and high evaporation."
Steady Status
Urmia spreads across 2,300 square kilometers at present and contains two billion cubic meters of water. Its level stands at 1270.74 meters. Tajrishi noted that its status has remained the same since 2014.
"At the same time in 2014, the lake contained 1.9 billion cubic meters which is now 2 billion. In fact, its condition has neither improved nor worsened, but has stayed the same."
He expressed hope that with the permission to draw on foreign sources of finance, new and more efficient measures could be adopted, such as improving agricultural practices to allow greater release of water to the lake without harming the farming sector.
However, Isa Kalantari, head of the Department of Environment, has not placed mush hope in the realization of foreign investment.
He said during a session with lawmakers on Tuesday that although the Management and Planning Organization has issued the required permit for raising foreign finance, "it is very unlikely to happen".
The ULRP has grappled with financial problems since its launch in 2013. An annual 18 trillion rials ($430 million) was approved to be allocated to the project but it was never fully provided due to the government's financial constraints. According to Mohammad Reza Tabesh, head of the parliament's environment faction, in the last two years, about 6.5 trillion rials ($155 million) have been supplied from the National Development Fund yearly.
Kalantari confirmed that only 35% of the designated budget has been provided so far.
Nevertheless, the volume of water in the lake has more than doubled since 2013 and the first phase of the plan was successfully completed in September 2016.
The program was to stabilize the lake’s water level in the first phase before embarking on the more challenging task of restoring its ecological level.
