Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Water reserve behind reservoirs in Iran has reached 19.23 billion cubic meters, indicating a 7.9 percent decrease year-to-year.
The reserves are less than 39 percent of reservoirs' total capacity, the country's energy ministry reported Sept. 21.
Iran's dam reservoir input reached 28.2 billion cubic meters during the current crop year, which began September 22, 2014, indicating a 12 percent fall compared to the same period of last year.
Dam reservoir output from the beginning of the current crop year also stood at 29.27 billion cubic meters, 3.9 percent less compared to 30.46 billion cubic meters of output in the same period of the preceding year.
For the time being, the total water capacity in the dam reservoirs is about 49.1 billion cubic meters.
The Islamic Republic is located in an arid zone and the country faces a serious water shortage crisis. However, many experts believe that the current water shortage problem is a result of water resources mismanagement, rather than the drought.
Iran's total annual water consumption is approximately 93 billion cubic meters, out of which about 92 percent is used in agriculture (86 billion cubic meters), 6.6 percent in municipality (6.18 billion cubic meters), and 1.2 percent in industry (1.12 billion cubic meters), according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Up to 70 percent of water used in the agriculture sector is being wasted, Iranian officials say.
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