More than 80 illegal water wells were sealed during the fifth month of the current Iranian year (July 23-Aug. 22) in Tehran Province, preventing the annual discharge of more than 2 million cubic meters of water from underground aquifers, the deputy for operations at the Tehran Regional Water Company said.
“Sealing 86 wells with a total depth of 2,013 meters were sealed last month in the counties of Tehran, Shahriar, Shahr-e Rey, Robat Karim, Firouzkuh, Damavand, Eslamshahr and Varamin,” ILNA also quoted Ahmad Ali Qorbanian as saying.
Forty-five smart meters were installed on the authorized wells in one month,” he added.
Transforming traditional wells into smart wells has been on the Energy Ministry’s agenda. Smart wells are advanced wells with sensors and valves installed downhole to allow easy and constant monitoring by utilities.
Wells in and around Tehran are in bad condition with water levels falling constantly and experts have warned that the situation will not improve with good rainfall in one or even two years.
Improper extraction of underground resources in the province has caused a sharp drop in groundwater levels.
Unsustainable and unacceptably high consumption are taking a high toll and threatening water supplies in the capital that is home to more than 10 million people. The situation in other parts of the country is possibly much worse.
Thousands of illegal wells used by farmers for agriculture have been identified and closed across Iran in the past few years. Restrictions on the use of surface and groundwater resources have also been imposed by the government to help preserve the precious but rapidly dwindling resource.
The steep decline in groundwater levels is having devastating consequences. Excessive pumping is harming groundwater tables and stopping wells from reaching the groundwater. When groundwater is overused, lakes, streams and rivers connected to groundwater also start diminishing and vanish as time passes.
Groundwater overdraft can also lead to land subsidence, as it occurs when there is loss of support below the ground.
Destruction of vegetation, increasing dust storms, holes in the plains and higher salt content in groundwater are other grave consequences of water overconsumption and waste.
There are about 470,000 legal and 320,000 illegal wells in the country and every year around 14,000 illegal wells are sealed.
Decline in Dam Water Levels
The five dams supplying water to Tehran currently hold 585 million cubic meters of water while the figure was 936 mcm this time last year, the deputy for water and hydropower affairs at the Tehran Regional Water Company said.
“We are approaching the new water year [starting Sept. 23], with a 351-mcm water deficit in the dams compared to last year, which indicates a much more difficult year ahead of us regarding water supply in comparison with the current water year [September 2020-21],” Mohammad Shahriari was also quoted as saying by ILNA.
The five dams supplying Tehran include Taleqan, Latyan, Mamlou, Amir Kabir and Lar. Together, they can hold over 2 bcm of water, but are currently 30% full.
According to Iran Meteorological Organization, the rainfall in the catchment areas of Tehran dams will unfortunately be below normal levels in October and November, the official added.
“Rainfall in the current water year has been 304 millimeters, while it was 460 mm last year. This indicates a 34% decrease in precipitation, which has had a negative effect on water resources,” Shahriari said.
“Since last September, 1.296 billion cubic meters of water have entered Tehran's five dams while the volume was 2.170 bcm in the last water year. It shows a 40% decline in the volume of water entering the dams.
