ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Water levels in Tehran’s dam reservoirs have dropped to less than half of last year’s levels, a senior official from the Iranian capital’s water authority warned, further noting that autumn rainfall has also plunged to record lows.
“The total volume of Tehran province’s dam reservoirs currently stands at 170 million cubic meters, compared with 381 million cubic meters during the same period last year,” Rama Habibi, deputy head of the city’s water authority, told the state-run Iranian News Agency (IRNA) on Tuesday.
"Autumn rainfall in Tehran province has decreased by over 96 percent compared to the same period last year," Habibi added.
Tehran’s water supply depends on five main dams - Amir Kabir, Lar, Latyan, Mamlu, and Taleqan - with Amir Kabir, the largest among them, at risk of running dry.
The Amir Kabir Dam currently “holds just 14 million cubic meters of water, or eight percent of its capacity,” IRNA reported last month, citing Behzad Parsa, Director of Tehran’s water company. Parsa added that the same level was 86 million cubic meters at this time last year.
Tehran is home to around 10 million people, who consume approximately three million cubic meters of water daily, according to Iranian media.
Habibi stressed that with the declining precipitation and dam inflows, “attention to resource and consumption management [by residents of the Iranian capital] is more essential than ever.”
Habibi stressed that with declining precipitation and reduced dam inflows, “attention to resource and consumption management [by residents of the Iranian capital] is now more essential than ever before.”
He urged citizens “to cooperate as necessary in ensuring a sustainable drinking water supply by adopting efficient consumption habits and conserving water.”
In early November, Iran’s President issued a stark warning that Tehran may need to be evacuated if rainfall does not fall, as the country grapples with a severe water shortage.
Speaking during a visit to the city of Sanandaj in Iran’s western Kurdish region (Rojhelat), Masoud Pezeshkian said that “if it does not rain, we will have to begin restricting water supplies in Tehran next month,” further warning, “should the drought persist, we will run out of water and be forced to evacuate the [capital] city.”
Prior to that, the Iranian government in August urged citizens to help tackle severe water and electricity shortages by conserving and managing consumption, emphasizing that public cooperation is crucial.
“The government, together with experts, academics, and specialists, is working to address these imbalances and provide solutions,” said government Spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani during a weekly press briefing.
“We must solve the issue of energy imbalance in water and electricity … with the help of the people themselves, through saving and managing consumption,” she stressed.