To redress water scarcity, about 12 trillion rials ($360 million) are needed to execute short-term solutions, according to a deputy at Iran’s Water and Wastewater Company. Hamidreza Tashayoei said short-term plans are imperative to curb the looming crisis and revealed that the government has already allotted 8 trillion rials ($240 million) to implement the plans, IRNA reported. The official said perpetual drought has brought with it a significant decline in rainfall that has resulted in a 6-billion-cubic-meter drop in the average water level of reservoirs. According to official data, 10 provinces suffer from severe water shortage, while 23 provinces have experienced significant reduction in rainfall compared to previous years. Isa Kalantari, a former agriculture minister, says Iran uses 90% of its renewable water resources, while the global average is 40%. Officials believe the amount of water drawn from groundwater sources needs to drop from 55 billion cubic meters to 26.5 billion cubic meters per year to avoid a catastrophe.
