TEHRAN, Iran, Dec.16
Trend:
An expert in the water industry believes that although the Caspian's water transfer plan to the Iranian central provinces will not be harmful if properly implemented, attention to productivity and proper consumption management is more important.
"The Caspian Sea is very large, so it will not be a big issue, if the water transfer plan is implemented properly," a former SBU professor Hamid Reza Gol Sefatan said, Trend reports citing IRNA.
"Correct transferring of water from the sea will not have any negative impact on the volume of the Caspian Sea water and will not lead to the increase of pollution,” the expert said.
"However, some problems may occur on the transmission route, because it will cause damage to the forest,” Gol Sefatan said adding that the costs of the water transmission is exaggerated.
"Meanwhile, it is better to focus on other methods such as managing consumption and increasing productivity, because these methods are both less costly and harmful,” the expert noted.
Gul Seftan believes that the Caspian Sea water transfer project is a good initiative, but there are challenges to be addressed.
"The Environmental Organization should carefully monitor the project to ensure that all aspects of the route of transmission are properly observed,” he said.
On 19 April, the Iranian parliament approved a pilot project by pumping water from the Caspian Sea.
The plan foresees to transfer water via a 200-km pipeline from the Mazandaran Province to the Semnan Province in Iran. The idea has been promoted as a solution to meet the growing demands of the agricultural, industrial and household sectors in the water-stressed regions. The plan involves transporting 100 million cubic meters of the Caspian Sea water per year to Semnan after desalination.