There are serious problems with water reserves
Tehran may be close to “becoming uninhabitable” if the drought that is ravaging the country continues, according to Reuters this Wednesday. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warns that if it doesn’t rain by December, the government has to start rationing water – “and even if we ration it, we will run out of water if it doesn’t rain.” In that case, “citizens must be removed from Tehran,” said Pezeshkian on November 6.
Last year’s rainfall in Iran was 40% below the 57-year average recorded in the country, says the director of Iran’s Water Research Institute, Mohammadreza Kavianpour. With precipitation forecasts pointing to an unfavorable scenario until the end of December, Pezeshkian called for prudence in consumption, taking into account that in July 70% of Tehran residents consumed more than the standard 130 liters per day.
The capital’s reservoirs, which together could store almost 500 million cubic meters, currently hold 250 million, half of the total capacity. The director of the Tehran Regional Water Company, Behzad Parsa, emphasizes that, with current consumption rates, the deposits are at risk of drying up in two weeks. In an attempt to respond to water shortages, Iran’s National Water and Sewage Company admitted resorting to reducing water pressure at night in Tehran, which could even drop to zero in some districts, local media reported.
“It was around 10pm and the water only returned at 6am,” says Mahnaz, one of the people whose taps ran dry overnight without warning. The water crisis has mainly affected the capital, but its effects are felt throughout the country and reports are multiplying. “The pressure is so low that we literally have no water during the day. I installed water tanks, but how much longer can we continue like this?” says Reza, a resident of the city of Mashhad.
Pezeshkian’s government attributed the crisis to low rainfall levels and climate change, but also to policies of previous governments, which include excessive dam construction, illegal well drilling and inefficient agricultural practices.
For Iranians, this problem is compounded by the recurring shortage of electricity and gas that also affects their daily lives: “It’s one difficulty after another – one day there is no water, the next there is no electricity”.
The water crisis has been worsened by rising temperatures, which contribute to accelerating the evaporation process of groundwater. The most drastic outcome, already mentioned by the president of Iran, could involve the evacuation of more than ten million inhabitants living in the capital.
