Friday, March 21, 2025
The water levels behind the dams that provide Tehran with its water continue to fall, have now reached a “crisis” stage and make the threat of rationing even before summer more likely. What’s most worrying is that the public isn’t conserving water. Quite the opposite.
On March 7, according to Tehran’s water and sewage company, Abfa, water consumption spiked 20 percent and hit an all-time record usage of 48,000 liters per second. Abfa chalked that up to Now Ruz preparations, but said in a statement, “This kind of surge is something we have never seen before.” The company said, “The state of Tehran’s water resources has reached a crisis level unprecedented in recent years.”
Abfa said the stock of water in four of Tehran’s reservoirs was down to 5 percent as of March 12, compared to 6 percent five days earlier on March 7. That was down from 9 percent on February 10, which was down from 17 percent on January 19. In other words, that is down by one percentage point every 4-1/2 days, which would suggest those four dams would be empty by April 4.
However, there is a fifth reservoir, behind the Taleghan Dam, which stood at 50 percent early in March, up from 37 percent a year earlier. But it can’t provide water for the entire Tehran era alone. Abfa said all five reservoirs taken together were at 13 percent of capacity, with the Amir Kabir and Latian reservoirs at the lowest levels ever. According to Abfa, rainfall in the region since the start of the current water year last September 23 is the lowest in 57 years. Even without an increase in rainfall, current water stocks should meet current demand through the end of May, Abfa said. But after that…………
Abfa has announced plans to dig 50 wells to a depth of 250 meters (820 feet) to tap into underground water aquifers and add to the water stock. But City Council Chairman Mehdi Chamran was not impressed. “That will dry up existing wells,” he said. “These new wells will dry up again in three years.” He said the City Council has reviewed Abfa’s plans and “we do not consider them advisable.” Abfa called on Tehranis to reduce their water consumption by 10 percent.
“We hope that people will exercise self-control and not use drinking water to wash yards, doors and building facades,” as is common in the weeks leading up to Now Ruz. And, if residents see neighbors wasting water, Abfa asked them to call 122. “Our colleagues will quickly visit the address in question and provide the necessary notice,” it said in a threat it tried to make sound unthreatening. Nationally, there is a growing water shortage.
Apart from Mazandaran and Kurdistan provinces, the rainfall this water year has been below normal. Hormuzgan province on the Strait of Hormuz is the worst, with rainfall 86 percent below normal. However, as of February 21, the average water stock in all the country’s reservoirs stood at 43 percent, down just 3 percent from last year.
