Iran's Inter-Basin Water Transfer Schemes Challenged

Diverting water from the Oman Sea to alleviate the water crisis in Sistan-Baluchestan, South Khorasan and Khorasan Razavi provinces is on the agenda, but it should not be the last resort, deputy for water and wastewater affairs at the Energy Ministry said.
"Such projects are costly, long-term and bound to lead to environmental disasters like exacerbating soil erosion and throwing marine ecosystems out of balance," Qassem Taqizadeh Khamesi was quoted as saying by IRNA on Saturday.
Instead spreading public awareness, promoting prudent consumption, treating and recycling wastewater, collecting and reusing groundwater, updating traditional irrigation and farming practices should be given higher priority, he said.
Inter-basin transfer to far-flung regions can and will compromise the above-mentioned approaches tried and tested globally to fight water shortage. Moreover, Iran is the only country in the world trying to tackle water paucity by building a pipeline stretching over a long distance...