TEHRAN — Using groundwater to irrigate green spaces in cities must be brought to a halt in no time, an official at the Tehran City Council said.

“It is best to use wastewater produced by local water treatment plants instead of groundwater and raw water,” the Mehr news agency quoted Eqbal Shakeri as saying.

Raw water is natural water found in the environment, such as rainwater, ground water, and water from bodies like lakes and rivers.

“As Iran is gripped by water shortage for some years, now groundwater and raw water are of the same value as potable water to us,” he noted.

Each year, some 19 million cubic meters of water is used for irrigating green spaces. This volume of water can be secured using wastewater produced in water treatment plants, Shakeri reiterated.

Groundwater management is extremely crucial as excessive withdrawal have led to land subsidence in Tehran, he warned.

MQ