Water Crisis in Iran
“The transfer from Talekan is only meant to partially address Tehran’s water shortage, not entirely,” expressed Mohammad Javad Zarian, who oversees the Center for Water Resources Research at the Department of Energy’s Water Research Institute. “If this dry season continues, Talekan won’t have enough water.”
Talekan Dam is situated in Alborz Governorate and serves as a hydroelectric power source, boasting an installed capacity of 18 MW. It’s one of five primary water supplies for the Tehran metropolitan area.
Iran has been grappling with six straight years of drought, leading to alarmingly low water reserves. Specifically, Tehran’s Latyan Dam is at its lowest level in sixty years, while the Karaj (Amir Kabir) Dam holds under 10% of its capacity, and the Mashhad Dam has dropped to below 3%.
Years of over-extraction have severely depleted reserves.
Zarian noted that, while Iran has seen droughts previously, the intensity over the last two years has been unprecedented, largely due to the depletion of natural buffers that previously mitigated the impact. “We used to have groundwater and reservoirs that could absorb some of this pressure, but now consumption has outstripped available resources,” he said. He also pointed out that poor water management policies and a booming population have worsened the situation.
He cautioned that ongoing trends—like diminishing water resources coupled with increasing populations—are concerning. Additionally, climate change, marked by rising temperatures and declining precipitation, only adds to the stress on this already fragile system.
A lengthy dry spell has left reservoirs across Iran with historically low water levels, a situation largely attributable to decades of mismanagement. Agriculture consumes about 80 to 90 percent of the nation’s water but does so with less than 40 percent efficiency.
Excessive dam constructions, leaking pipes wasting 15 to 30 percent of the water supply, and a meager 20 percent recycling rate of wastewater—compared to 85 to 98 percent in neighboring countries—show just how far behind Iran is in terms of sustainable water management. Moreover, efforts to protect the environment are still quite weak.
Decoupling Economies from Water Supply
Zarian suggested that Tehran and other major cities need to distinguish between essential drinking water needs and other economic activities. He pointed out that residential water use is just a fraction of total consumption, with numerous industries around large cities demanding significant amounts.
Zarian dismissed the idea of transporting desalinated seawater to Tehran, deeming it economically unfeasible because of the high costs that would necessitate substantial state subsidies. “For a fraction of that expense, effective demand management could stabilize the situation,” he suggested.
He also mentioned that if rainfall does not improve soon, authorities will likely have no choice but to impose restrictions on water use, with drinking water remaining the priority.
