Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.12
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Some 90 billion cubic meters of water is consumed in Iran per year.
Sattar Mahmoudi, Iranian Deputy Energy Minister, said 55 percent of the needed potable water is taken from underground resources, Iran's Fars news agency reported on November 12.
Each cubic meter of potable water costs $0.3, but people in urban areas pay just $0.1 and people in rural areas pay just $0.03 per each cubic meter of water, he said.
He added that about 90 percent of water resources are used in the agricultural sector.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said on Aug. 12 that his administration has decided to allocate at least $2 billion every year to deal with water shortage crisis in the country.
For the current fiscal year (started on March 21) the budget has been allocated, and will be spent on the issue, Rouhani said. He went on to add that the administration will continue the policy in the upcoming years.
Iran is located in an arid zone, Rouhani said, adding there is no hope for wet period in the next years and the country faces a serious water shortage crisis.
The drought of 1992-2002 caused a major blow to agriculture. There were quotas imposed for fresh water in several cities, including the capital Tehran.
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