TEHRAN - The total volume of water in Iran’s dam reservoirs has reached 23.35 billion cubic meters since the beginning of the current water year (September 23, 2022) up to February 25, showing a six percent increase compared to the same period last year.

According to Firouz Ghasemzadeh, the spokesman of the Energy Ministry’s water industry, the precipitation rate during autumn (September 23-December 21, 2022) was not very favorable but the situation is expected to get better as of early March when glaciers begin to melt.

The total volume of water input to the country's dams since the beginning of the current water year up to February 25 is reported to be 12.25 billion cubic meters, which shows no significant change compared to the same period last year.

The volume of water output from the dams in the mentioned period is estimated at 8.1 billion cubic meters indicating a decrease of 15 percent. The figure was 9.46 billion cubic meters in the same period last year.

According to Ghasemzadeh, currently, 47 percent of the total capacity of the country’s dams is full. Iran’s total dam reservoirs stand at 50.5 billion cubic meters.

Out of a total of 183 currently operational dams across Iran, 52 are related to the Caspian Sea catchment area, 12 are based in the Urmia basin, 68 dams are located in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman watersheds, 34 dams are in the Central Plateau, 11 dams are in Sarakhs catchment basin, and another six dams are located across the eastern boundary basin (Hamoun).

A recent report by Nature Scientific Journal on Iran’s water crisis indicates that from 2002 to 2015, over 74 billion cubic meters have been extracted from aquifers, which is unprecedented and its revival takes thousands of years along with urgent action.

Three Iranian scientists studied 30 basins in the country and realized that the rate of aquifer depletion over a 14-year period has been about 74 billion cubic meters, which is recently published in Nature Scientific Journal.

Also, over-harvesting in 77 percent of Iran has led to more land subsidence and soil salinity. Research and statistics show that the average overdraft from the country's aquifers was about 5.2 billion cubic meters per year.

EF/MA