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Zayandehrud Water Rights to be Upheld

Zayandehrud Water Rights to be Upheld
Zayandehrud Water Rights to be Upheld

Hydrometric instruments will be installed to help provide data to determine the ecological needs of the Zayandehrud River, in other words the river’s water rights. The instruments will also provide information on the river discharge, sediments and chemical quality, Hamid Zahrabi, head of Isfahan Department of Environment (DoE) said.

The ministry of energy will  release 400 million cubic meters of water to the Zayandehrud and Gavkhouni Wetland from the Zayandehrud Dam at specified intervals. At present the water has been released, so the river and wetland will soon be full,” he said, quoted by IRNA.

The measures taken will help prevent environmental problems in the river basin and also the wetland from drying up due to salt storms. Since Gavkhuni wetland is highly saline, its neglect could cause salt storms and pose a serious health hazard to the surrounding areas.

Installation of the hydrometric stations will help calculate the river’s precise water needs; therefore the amount of water to be released from the dam will be determined accurately.

 Cropping Patterns

Zahrabi also emphasized the necessity of modifying cropping and irrigation patterns to reduce the amount of water consumption. He expressed hope that with favorable rainfall in the second half of the current year (started March 21), water would flow into the river till May 2015. It should be noted that water had stopped flowing into the river in Isfahan city from May 2013. On November 3, water from the Zayandehrud Dam was released helping the river flow again.

The dam constructed in 1970 is located in the western part of Isfahan. Its maximum volume is about 1.47 billion cubic meters and the surface area of the lake behind the dam is 54 sq km.

Gavkhuni is a salt wetland in the Central Plateau, in southeast of Isfahan and its surface area is about 476 sq meters.

Zayandehrud is also the largest river in the plateau which starts in the Zagros Mountains and flows 400 km eastward before ending in the Gavkhuni swamp.  The river is perennial, unlike many of Iran’s rivers which are seasonal. It passes through the two provinces of Isfahan and Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari.

Financialtribune.com