With the current patterns of water use and wastage, shortages will be such by 2050, when the population reaches 117 million (from 82 million now), that the country will suffer from absolute water scarcity, the secretary of the national workgroup on adaptation to water shortage said.
“Iran is among the top 20 countries with high water consumption and if present trends persist, almost all underground water resources will dry up within the next 30 years,” Banafsheh Zahraee said.
The workgroup to tackle water shortages was established in March. Its mandate is not limited to policymaking as it also oversees provincial plans on adapting to water scarcity and helps implement projects, ILNA reported.
Representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, the Energy Ministry and the Iran Meteorological Organization are members of the group planning and making decisions regarding the water crisis and ways to overcome it.
After its birth the team asked governors generals in the provinces to outline plans in line with their provinces’ water needs, potentials and challenges that can become law if necessary.
“So far, 12 provinces (from the total 31) have submitted plans and proposals that are being reviewed by the workgroup,” Zahraee said.
Located in one of the world’s most water-stressed regions, Iran’s average precipitation has been lower than the global average for at least 10 years.
Last year the country had the lowest precipitation in almost half a century. Some provinces, such as Sistan-Baluchestan, Kerman, Yazd, Fars, South Khorasan and Isfahan, registered a 60% decline in rainfall.
Statistics show that there was 166 millimeters of rainfall across Iran in the past water year (September 2017-2018), which was 27% lower than the same period previous year.
Some experts and environmentalists reject a widely-held notion that chronic water shortages can be alleviated only by higher precipitation.
Desertification, the abundance of illegal water wells, wasteful farming practices, water-intensive industries in arid regions and the injudicious use of water in households are seemingly making a bad situation worse.
According to Energy Ministry data, every Iranian uses an average of 250 liters of water per day, while per capita water consumption in metropolises such as Tehran exceeds 400 liters. The global average is 150 liters.
Officials have often warned that winning the battle against drought is not difficult, it is impossible, and the people must learn to adapt to its effects.
Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian has said that adapting to the water crisis is the government's strategy for now. He has expressed the hope that “Iran will be able to prevent disaster emanating from the water shortages by rewriting” failed policies in time, using appropriate methods and technologies, especially in the agriculture sector, increasing water treatment plants, tapping into seawater and encouraging more judicious use of the precious but fast dwindling resource.
