Tehran’s dams’ water reserves are only 20 percent

According to Energy Press, from the Ministry of Energy, Issa Bozorgzadeh, spokesman for the country’s water industry, presented a report on the latest rainfall situation in the country, especially in Tehran province, stating that we are going through a dry autumn and said: “So far, the rainfall on a national scale has been about 35 millimeters, which is about 23 percent less than normal conditions.” He added: “Tehran has received about 48 millimeters of rainfall, which is about 17 percent less than normal conditions in Tehran, but we must note that the normal conditions of our country are the normal conditions of an arid and semi-arid climate and are different from the normal conditions of a European country with high rainfall. In our country, the available water resources are about one-third of the global average rainfall, and it has a lower share in countries with abundant water and rainfall, such as European countries.” Bozorgzadeh, stating that in general, most of the country’s rainfall is received in the winter months and the first two months of spring, continued: “Last year, we received about 34 millimeters of rainfall at this time, which is two percent ahead of last year, and this year’s rainfall is almost the same as last year.” Tehran’s rainfall has decreased by 17 percent compared to the previous water year
The spokesman for the water industry also said regarding the amount of rainfall in Tehran: Tehran has received about 48 millimeters of rainfall so far, which under normal conditions should have received 58 millimeters of rainfall, and this indicates a 17 percent decrease in Tehran’s rainfall in the current water year.
He also presented a report on the status of all dams in the country and said: This year, 3.70 billion cubic meters of water have entered the country’s dams, which was 3.79 billion cubic meters in the same period last year, showing a two percent decrease. The output of the dams in the current water year is 5.60 billion cubic meters, which is a one percent decrease compared to the previous year, which was 5.67 billion cubic meters.
12% improvement in the volume of the country’s dams’ reservoirs compared to last year
Bozorgzadeh stated that the current water volume of the country’s dams is 22.66 billion cubic meters and said: This amount was about 20 billion cubic meters last year at this time, and with the management that my colleagues have created in the reservoir conditions, we have a better inventory status of about 12% compared to last year, and the percentage of dams being filled is currently 44%.
20% filling of Tehran’s dams
He called the inventory of Tehran’s 5 dams with about 373 million cubic meters, 20% full, and added: Now the Amirkabir Dam has 63 million cubic meters of water and its percentage of being filled is about 35%; the Latian Dam has 25 million cubic meters with 34% fullness, the Lar Dam has 24 million cubic meters with 3% fullness, the Taleghan Dam, which is far from Tehran, about 239 million cubic meters of water and about 54% fullness, and the Mamlu Dam also has 34 million cubic meters of water, which is 14% fullness.
Stating that these statistics tell us that consumption management should be observed in general in Iran and in the metropolitan city of Tehran, Bozorgzadeh emphasized: Regarding water consumption, we are facing a water Tehran; a water Tehran that includes Alborz, part of Qazvin and other parts and perhaps covers about 20 million. We are all consuming shared water resources, and if we do not observe and do not set a model for consumption management, it may be harmful and lower the general welfare of society.
Consumption management is not a difficult task
The spokesperson for the country’s water industry, giving recommendations regarding consumption management, stated: Consumption management is not a difficult task either; it is enough to promise ourselves that we will reduce the intensity of water pressure by 10-15% when taking a bath and reduce its duration by the same amount. Also, reduce the water pressure when washing hands. The best way to reduce water consumption is to reduce the opening and reduce the water pressure.
In another part of his speech regarding the Ministry of Energy’s programs to manage water stress in the country, he noted: Water is a cross-sectoral issue that the Ministry of Energy alone cannot solve, and other agencies, including the Planning and Budget Organization, the Parliament, the Judiciary, the Ministry of Agricultural Jihad, municipalities, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Semat, and other institutions, must also solve water problems by improving the development model. Bozorgzadeh added: The Ministry of Energy, as the country’s water authority, has developed programs as a frontrunner to reduce undesirable indicators such as 422 prohibited plains or 359 subsidence plains, and other statistics.