Urmia Lake Water Level Is Declining Again: ULRP

The water level in Iran’s largest inland body of water (Lake Urmia) which was showed marked improvement in 2020, is falling, head of the Urmia Lake Restoration Project said. 
“The current slump in water level is largely the result of depriving the lake of its water rights from dams in West Azarbaijan Province,” Farhad Sarkhosh was quoted as saying by ISNA.
The water level that was close to 1,271.9 meters last September has now declined by 40 centimeters. The Energy Ministry had said the troubled lake would receive 650 million cubic meters of water from Salmas, Zola, Boukan, Agh-Chai, Shahre-Chai, Mahabad, Aras and Sarouq dams (in West Azarbaijan Province) between September 2020 and March 2021. However, so far less than 150 mcm of water has been pumped into the lake, Sarkhosh complained.