Despite higher precipitation in the fall, Karaj Dam (also known as Amir Kabir) west of Tehran is still not what it should have been, Mehdi Fotokian, director of the dam said.
Located in Karaj, Alborz Province, it is one of the five dams around Tehran, which supplies water to the capital. The dam has a capacity to hold 205 million cubic meters of water, but currently holds 118.7 mcm of water, ISNA reported.
At the start of autumn, the dam was 79% full, but three months later the water level has declined and now has 58% of the capacity.
During the first 78 days of fall, there have been 150 millimeters of rainfall in the catchment area of the dam, which is four times over and above the same period last year. However, the water level at the dam has decreased.
“Precipitation at high altitudes is often in the form of snow and flows into the dam when it melts in spring. On the other hand, part of recent rains was absorbed by the earth’s surface and practically had no (positive) effect on the dam,” Fotokian noted.
Karaj dam was built in 1961 as a multi-purpose dam to provide tap water for Tehran alongside agricultural development in Karaj. It supplies water to over 50,000 hectares of farmland in its vicinity. It has a 90 MW hydroelectric power plant.
