The reservoir of Boukan Dam has been feeding the ailing Lake Urmia since Sunday, according to an official at the West Azarbaijan Regional Water Authority.
Speaking to IRNA, Afshin Amirpour Deylami, conservation and exploitation deputy at the WARWA, said the move is part of the Urmia Lake Restoration Program’s measures to revive the drying lake.
“About 70 cubic meters of water flow into the lake through the dam every second,” he said.
An estimated 55 million cubic meters of water over and above the expected amount entered the dam reservoir thanks to good rainfall in the past two weeks, resulting in the opening of the dam well ahead of schedule.
The move comes three days after the ULRP successfully connected Zarrinehroud to Siminehroud and directed the flow of the river toward the lake. The measure has been hailed as one of the most important steps ever taken to restore the imperiled Lake Urmia.
The lake has dried up drastically due to a variety of factors, including the construction of a 15-kilometer causeway to shorten the travel time between Urmia and Tabriz cities as well as construction of several dams that have choked off a major supply of water from the mountains towering either side of the lake.
Today, the lake contains only 5% of the amount of water it held 20 years ago.
