Thrift Crucial to Staving Off Water Rationing in Tehran

With Tehran's water reserves languishing at their lowest levels this year, scrimping and saving is the only way to head off rationing. 
According to Alireza Bakhtiari, director general of Tehran's Regional Water Authority, the inflow of water into the province's dams is predicted to decrease by 400 million cubic meters and flowing waters are expected to shrink by 700 mcm. 
"Our snow reserves are nearly empty this year while last year at this time they were filled by about one meter," he said, adding that snow supplies have hit a record low in 50 years.
The official stressed that since weather forecasts point to low precipitation and around 1° Celsius rise in temperature for this year, "we should be concerned for next year from this moment", ILNA reported. 
"Last year, we supplied drinking water for Tehran residents with extreme difficulty. The fact that we do not seek recourse to rationing does not mean we are not facing a challenge," he said. Bakhtiari warned that if current conditions persist until 2019 and rainfall remains at this level, water will definitely be rationed in Tehran next year.