Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar.5
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Iran has increased water bills for subscribers by 20 cubic meters of consumption per month by 7500 rials (30 cents), IRIB quoted National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company's Managing Director Hamid Janbaz as saying on March 5.
Iran faces a water shortage with low precipitation, he said, adding that potable water is produced at a high cost.
Some 72 percent of subscribers amounting to 12 million families consume up to 20 cubic meters of water per month, he noted.
On November 17, 2013, Janbaz said the water shortage had reached a critical level in Tabriz, Isfahan, Khuzestan, Qum, Mashhad and Hamadan provinces.
According to Janbaz, a special programme is currently being worked out in order to solve the water shortage problem in the next three years.
"A drought has been observed in the country for nearly 13 years. The demand for water increases with population growth," Janbaz said.
In July, Iran's water supply company warned in a special statement about the water shortage in several cities of the country and imposed quotas for fresh water.
Iran is located in an arid zone and the country has been repeatedly faced with drought over the past 40 years.
The drought of 1992-2002 caused a major blow to agriculture. There were imposed quotas for fresh water in several cities including Tehran.
The Iranian administration increased water bills for both rural and urban families by 20 per cent, the Mehr News Agency reported on March 3.
A new tariff has been applied as of the previous calendar month of Bahman (ended Feb. 19).