Drilling wells, both legal and illegal, in Markazi Province’s counties have accelerated the death of qanats (aqueducts) in the region, the head of the Soil and Water Office at the provincial agricultural organization said.
“There are 3,600 qanats in the province, of which 35% or 1,260 are dry and the number of unusable qanats is on the rise,” Farzad Kouhdani was also quoted as saying by ISNA.
“Qanat are especially in critical conditions in Zarandiyeh, Arak and Saveh counties,” he said, adding that of the total 11,500 wells dug in the province over the last two decades, close to 9,000 were drilled in the three areas.
The official noted that fewer wells were dug in Shazand, Tafresh, Khomein and Ashtian, so qanats are still not dry in these regions.
“Despite efforts to revive qanats, many of them have dried up due to the limited budget allocated for rehabilitating the subterranean infrastructure in the central province,” he rued.
Referring to the length of qanats in the province which exceeds 3,600 kilometers, he noted that the annual budget allocated to rehabilitation operations is less than $1.5 million, with which close to 30 kilometers of qanat can be repaired annually.
Put it simply, with the allocated fund, the rehabilitation of all qanats in the region will take 120 years.
While qanats cannot replace advanced technology in water resource management, they still have a role to play as a known sustainable groundwater source since time immemorial.
As a traditional technique for accessing and managing underground water, qanats have been used throughout history in different parts of the world, including the Middle East, the Mediterranean, Americas and west China.
Although its exact history and origin are disputable, it is believed to be an Iranian invention and has been in use forever in Iran.
According to the Energy Ministry report, $40 million have been earmarked for rehabilitating qanats in Iran this year, up 170% compared to the last fiscal year.
The funds are expected to help recondition 40 qanats mainly in Yazd, Sistan-Baluchistan and South Khorasan provinces, the report said.
Among the estimated 38,000 qanats in the country, 11 have received UNESCO’s recognition.
South Khorasan, Yazd, Kerman, Isfahan and Markazi provinces are home to the 11 qanats on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
Close to 14% of Iran’s water for farming come from qanats that irrigate 800,000 hectares of farmlands and orchards.
Policy- and decision-makers are gradually realizing that sustainable water supply, environmental protection and agro sector development, among other things, require the revival of qanats.
For centuries, human societies in dry lands have overcome the challenges of water scarcity through traditional methods of water harvesting, one of which is qanat technology.
It is the generic term for an ancient environmentally sustainable water harvesting and conveyance technique believed to have originated in Persia in the early first millennium B.C.
With more than 2,800 production units, the western Markazi Province is the country’s fourth biggest industrial hub and a major producer of travertine stones, plants and flowers.
