TEHRAN – Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian has said his ministry is taking serious measures for reforming the country’s water structure and for managing water resources, IRNA reported.

Speaking in a meeting with water officials from the country’s drainage basin regions, Ardakanian said: "Currently, the Ministry of Energy is moving towards the establishment of a governance system with a focus on drainage basin territories."

Mentioning the measures taken by the ministry in this regard, the official added: “very good measures have been taken for reforming the country’s water structure in a short period of time and the rest of the way will be passed with determination, responsibility, commitment, and a professional approach.”

Touching upon the ministry’s program for establishing fixed territories for the country’s drainage basins, the official said: “When we have fixed boundaries, the territory of rivers and water resources is clear, and we can move towards a system of governance in such specific regions; we need to move in a direction where we could be able to establish an organization of drainage basins….. this is a method and experience that has been done in the world and works perfectly.”

“Some prerequisites are necessary in order to reform the country’s water structure, preliminaries such as the implementation of water shortage adaptation plans in the provinces, passing the bill of the comprehensive water law, the integration of urban and rural water and sewage companies, etc.,” Ardakanian explained.

Although we need such prerequisites to change the structure, establishing these prerequisites also requires some preparation, he added.

According to Ardakanian, the formation of expert committees in drainage basin regions is one of the most essential steps that must be taken to be able to benefit from the existing capacities of water organizations in those regions.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Energy had submitted a proposed bill for water resources management to the cabinet committee for infrastructure, industry, and environment.

Swarming water-related problems are threatening many arid and semiarid regions of the world, and Iran is no exception.

Integrating such problems with health, environmental, political, socioeconomic, and sustainability issues have greatly increased demand for managing water-related problems in Iran over the past few years.

And in this regard, the government has been taking some measures for changing the way the country’s water resources have been managed so far.

EF/MA