Tehran, Iran, Jun. 23
By Milad Fashtami - Trend:
As the water crisis continues in Iran, Iranian President Hasan Rouhani ordered the energy ministry to avoid water rationing.
Hamidreza Janbaz, advisor to Iranian energy minister, said that currently 517 cities are struggling with water shortage across the country, Iran's Mehr News Agency reported on June 23.
"The energy ministry will face no difficulty in providing the country with enough water," Janbasz added.
"We plan to transport water to 6,000 villages via tankers," he said.
Iranian energy minister Hamid Chitchian on April 27 warned about water shortage crisis in the country.
"The energy ministry has formed a special committee several months ago to monitor the water crisis and take appropriate decisions," he said, Iran's Mehr news agency reported on April 27.
On February 19, Donya-ye Eqtesad daily quoted Chitchian as saying that the situation of water resources in Iran has passed beyond the critical condition.
At present, 96 billion cubic meters of the country's total 120 billion cubic meters of renewable water resources is being consumed annually.
He added that if 40-60 percent of renewable water resources is consumed in any country, that country is said to be in a critical condition.
"During the past decade, precipitations have declined from 250 millimetres to 242 millimetres," he noted.
The water shortage has reached a critical level in Tabriz, Isfahan, Khuzestan, Qum, Mashhad and Hamadan provinces, Janbaz said on Nov.17, MEHR agency reported.
Janbaz added that currently, a special program is being worked out to solve the water shortage problem in the next three years.
"A drought has been observed in the country for nearly 13 years," Janbaz said. "The demand for water increases with the population growth."
Iran is located in an arid zone. The country has repeatedly faced with drought in the past 40 years.
The drought of 1992-2002 caused a major blow to agriculture. There were quotas imposed for fresh water in several cities including Tehran.