With natural water reserves, namely rain water and underground water, depleting at unprecedented speed, non-conventional water resources like treated wastewater reuse and desalination must top the Energy Ministry priority list without further delay.
Parviz Kardavani, a veteran eremologist and faculty member of Tehran University, made the call on the sidelines of "National Clean Air Day" conference in Kashan, Isfahan Province, on Saturday, IRNA reported.
"Although development of non-conventional sources is absolutely essential, such approaches cannot and will not produce the desired results without long-term plans to train the people to consume water prudently," he said.
According to the professor, there is a strong consensus among experts that water-deficit countries like Iran need to rely more on non-conventional resources to partly alleviate the worsening water deficit.
Questioning ineffective and age-old methods of farming in deserts, namely drilling wells, he said, "What was supposed to help agriculture thrive has become a menace and is bringing down water levels to naught."
There are more than 700,000 wells in the country, of which 150,000 must be sealed and it is regrettable that the number of illegal wells is rising. There are more than 20,000 illegal wells in Tehran Province alone.
Kardavani believes that diverting water from the sea, whether from the Persian Gulf in the south or the Caspian Sea to the north, to the drought-stricken regions, cannot be a viable alternative because of two reasons:
-First, the massive costs notwithstanding, implementing such plans are long-term (minimum ten years) and this is while people are in dire need of water.
Parviz Kardavani says diverting water from the sea, whether from the Persian Gulf in the south or the Caspian Sea to the north, to the parched and drought-hit regions, is not feasible
-second, and more importantly, completion of such projects, if and when, would in reality mean availability of piped water that most probably would result in building and expanding steel factories or carwash centers instead of being valued as a precious commodity.
"Cloud seeding initiatives, which are primarily aimed at increasing rainfall, have not helped resolve the deepening water crisis," he stressed, noting that those who initially developed the technology are apparently unwilling to use it because it is economically unviable. In 2015, a single sortie, including aircraft's rent and fuel, insurance and seeding material, cost $31,400 and it's probably more expensive now.
Appalling Decline
Renewable water reserves show an appalling 20% decline over five years, down from 130 billion cubic meters in 2013 to 105 bcm now, of which 93% or 83 bcm is used by farmers.
Renewable water resources are defined as the average manual flow of rivers and recharge of aquifers generated from precipitation.
According to the International Water Management Institute, a non-profit, scientific research organization focusing on the sustainable use of water and land resources in developing countries, the (renewable) resources were around 140 bcm in 1999 and fell rapidly ever since -- to 135 bcm, 130 bcm and 105 bcm in 2007, 2013 and 2017 respectively.
Iran's annual water consumption is more than100 billion cubic meters, meaning that the water deficit will continue to be a serious national concern unless the production of certain fruits, namely watermelon and walnut, is banned. Moreover, illegal water wells, which have been dug in the tens of thousands in recent years, must be sealed without delay.
