Water shortage warning; critical condition of dam reserves

According to Energy Press, Issa Bozorgzadeh, a spokesman for the country’s water industry, announced a significant decrease in rainfall in the current water year and stated: “According to the Ministry of Energy’s baseline network, the country’s rainfall from the beginning of October to March 17 has reached 93.8 millimeters, which is a 41 percent decrease compared to the long-term average (157.8 millimeters), and a 21 percent decrease compared to the same period of the previous water year.” He added: “This decrease in rainfall (during the cold period of the year) has had a direct impact on the status of dam reserves, so that the volume of water in the country’s dam reservoirs has decreased by 7 percent compared to last year and has now reached 22.09 billion cubic meters.” Stating that the water input to the dams has experienced a significant decrease, Bozorgzadeh continued: “The water input since the beginning of the water year has been 8.7 billion cubic meters, which is a 33 percent decrease compared to last year. Also, the water output has decreased by 2 percent to 11.16 billion cubic meters.” Referring to the critical conditions in some regions, the water industry spokesman stated: “Provinces such as Hormozgan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Khuzestan, Kermanshah, and Isfahan are among the provinces that have had the greatest decrease in rainfall. For example, the rainfall in Hormozgan province was 77 percent lower than normal and in Sistan and Baluchestan was 72 percent lower.”