Rainfall in the past two weeks recharged 40 wetlands, the energy minister said at the weekend.
“After a decade plus of drought, Iranian wetlands have seen large amount of water inflow thanks to the deluge in most provinces,” ILNA reported Reza Ardakanian as saying.
The heavy downpours refilled 100% of Gandoman Lagoon and 80% of Choghakhor Lagoon both in western Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, 90% of Hawizeh Marshes and 80% of Bamdej wetland, both in southwestern Khuzestan Province, 70% of Hillah Wetland in southern Bushehr Province, and 40% of Maharloo Lake in southern Fars Province.
Even the usually dry Sistan-Baluchestan Province in the southeast has seen more rain since the beginning of the current water year (in September) and 20% of the Hamoun Wetland is recharged.
The province has seen 70 millimeters of rain in the last six months, which compared to the 24 mm last year is up 193%.
“Unprecedented downpours raised the water level in Lake Urmia in the northwest by 32 centimeters,” the minister said.
Lake Urmia was once Iran’s largest lake. In its prime, it was the second largest saltwater lake in the world. However, years of dam-building and massive overuse of feeder rivers had diverted the flow of sweet water from the surrounding basin into the salty lake. As a result, it simply dried out.
Over the years unsparing efforts have been undertaken to revive the lake that produced some results. Rainfall in mid-March helped increase the amount of water in the lake whose future has long been a major source of concern for the people, economic analysts, conservationists and environmentalists.
Gavkhuni Refill
“Rising water levels have refilled Gavkhuni wetland in central Isfahan Province after 15 years,” Ardakanian said.
Located in the Iranian Plateau in central part of the country, Gavkhuni is the terminal basin of the famous Zayandehrud River.
The wetland totally depends on the water from Zayandehrud, but since the river has been almost dry in recent years, Gavkhuni also was without water.
Ardakanian said with heavy rains in the past two weeks “Iran now has enough water.”
However, the torrential rains, which started March 19, have caused devastating floods in various parts of Iran, leaving over 70 people dead and injuring and displacing hundreds others. Rescue efforts are still underway in several regions, mainly in the north and south, where flooding has resulted in colossal human and material damage.
Regular monitoring is being done to prevent dams from overflowing as the weatherman has predicted more rain in the coming days.
According to official reports, five dams around Tehran now have 280 million cubic meters of empty capacity. The capital registered 327 mm of rainfall in six months and in case of further rainfall, the dams will be able to take more water.
The amount of rainfall in the current year in Tehran shows a 205% increase compared to last year’s 107 mm.
Tehran experienced unprecedented decline in precipitation last year that resulted in a severe decline in water levels in five dams (Karaj, Latyan, Taleqan, Lar and Mamlou).
In normal conditions, 70% of the water in the province comes from the surface and 30% is groundwater. Almost 12 million people live in the sprawling metropolis that has expanded in all four directions over the past half century.
The five dams now have 666 million cubic meters of water, 38 mcm more than last year.
