Baku, Azerbaijan, May 18
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iranian MP Hossein Azin said some 300,000 water wells are illegally operational in the country.
A total of 754,000 water wells are currently operational across the country, of which 300,000 are operations without legal permission, Iran's Fars news agency quoted Azin as saying on May 18.
Considering the water shortage crisis in the country over the recent years, the issue should be seriously dealt with, he said.
It seems that a lack of coordination between ministries of agriculture and energy is the main factor, he noted.
Iranian Deputy Energy Minister Sattar Mahmoudi said on May 3 that the volume of precipitations and renewable water resources are decreasing in the country.
The volume of renewable water resources has decreased from 135 million cubic meters to 110 million cubic meters, he added.
With growing population and industries, the volume of water consumption has become out of control, he said.
The only way to save the water resources is to promote the proper use of water consumption, he said, adding that people should be concerned about declining water resources.
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).
Massoumeh Ebtekar, a vice president and the head of Iran's Department of Environment, said last year "Our water usage is twice the world standard, and considering the situation in our country, we have to reduce this level."
Edited by CN