In a situation where the people of Tehran have been facing low and intermittent drinking water pressure for more than a week, officials believe that the way out of the current situation is to reduce consumption by 20% and do not consider their management to be involved in this matter.
According to Ashura News, citing Mehr News Agency, last week, Tehran Water Authority announced a 20 percent increase in Tehran's instantaneous water consumption on Friday, March 10, and urged Tehran citizens to seriously save on their consumption, given the 45 percent shortage of rainfall compared to the long-term and the shortage of dam reserves.
The announcement stated: On the last Friday before the holy month of Ramadan and in light of the long-standing tradition of cleaning houses before Nowruz by Iranians, instantaneous drinking water consumption has experienced an unprecedented 20 percent increase compared to recent days.
Tehran Water Authority announced the peak instantaneous water consumption in the capital on Friday, March 10, as a record 48,000 liters per second, and stated: A 20 percent increase in instantaneous consumption in a situation where cold weather is also prevailing in Tehran is considered unprecedented.
Following this issue, many citizens of different regions have complained about their water shortages and are still complaining. In an interview with Mehr, Hesam Khosravi, Deputy Director of Water Development and Operation of Tehran Water Company, said regarding the pressure reduction and water shortages in most areas of Tehran: "This year, rainfall has decreased by 46 percent compared to normal years and has decreased by 25 percent compared to last year; this has caused the water dams to be in a bad condition, so that the reserves of the five dams in Tehran are close to 6 percent." He pointed out that water consumption has increased in recent days due to housewarming and the holy month of Ramadan, which led to increased consumption and an exacerbation of the weakness of water resources. Therefore, it was not possible to compensate for it and we are forced to control the water pressure in the city.
Khosravi added: The conditions we have created are that there is water pressure up to the second floor, and if anyone on these two floors is facing water and water pressure problems, they should inform the 122 units so that we can resolve the issue, because we supply water to two floors in any situation, but it is not possible to supply water beyond that, and citizens must use the tank and pump.
However, many second-floor subscribers, when they informed the 122 units, withdrew their drinking water supply to the subscribers on the grounds that the parking lot should also be taken into account.
Possibility of water rationing in Tehran
In response to a question from a Mehr reporter that despite these conditions, it is possible to rationize water in the summer, he added: Water rationing occurs in two cases: one is very difficult conditions and the lack of precipitation, and the other is the lack of cooperation of the people, there is a possibility of water rationing.
Referring to the limitation in production, Khosravi added: "Given the limitation in production, citizens should help by managing consumption to prevent water rationing like in previous years. We are trying to prevent this from happening because it causes a lot of damage to the network."
The Deputy Minister of Water Development and Operation said: "We are trying to get through this period with the minimum amount of water available in the city, which requires the cooperation of the people."
Following this, Mohsen Ardakani announced on a television program that the people of the capital should not worry, the water network is stable, and we are forced to reduce the water pressure to provide water to all citizens.
45% decrease in rainfall compared to long-term
However, Behzad Parsa, CEO of Tehran Regional Water Company, announced: The water volume of Tehran's five dams has reached 272 million cubic meters, which is only 13% of the normal volume of these dams.
He continued: The reserves of Amirkabir (Karaj) and Letian dams in east Tehran have reached their lowest volume, which has never been seen since the operation of these dams, and this is due to the scanty rainfall this year and the continuation of the drought.
The CEO of Tehran Regional Water Company noted: This year's rainfall, with 88.3 millimeters recorded since the beginning of the current water year, has been 45% less than the long-term period.
Javanbakht also did not shy away from the dire situation of Tehran's water resources
Mohammad Javanbakht, Deputy Minister of Energy for Water and Water Resources Affairs and CEO of the Iran Water Resources Management Company, stated regarding the situation of Tehran's water resources: Due to a 47 percent decrease in Tehran province's rainfall compared to the long-term average, Tehran's drinking water supply sources in Lar, Latyan, Mamlu dams, and especially Karaj dam, which supplies a large part of Tehran's drinking water, are facing a significant decrease.
Referring to the latest statistics on the reservoir volume of Tehran's dams, he stated: Karaj dam is in a critical and unprecedented situation with 7 percent fullness. Lar dam is also in a 1 percent fullness and Latyan and Mamlu dams with 12 percent fullness, which are similar to Karaj dam.
Regarding the worrying situation of Karaj dam, the Deputy Minister of Energy stated: The emptying of Karaj dam, which is considered one of the main sources of drinking water supply to Tehran, is unprecedented throughout the history of operation of this dam and is considered a serious limitation for the sustainable water supply of the capital.
Tehran Water Authority CEO Admits, But What’s the Solution?
The situation of Tehran’s water dams has become so dire that Mohsen Ardakani, CEO of Tehran Province Water Authority, has said in response to this issue that the amount of rainfall in Tehran Province since the beginning of the current water year is the lowest in the last 57 years. Also, the water in Amirkabir, Letian, Lar, and Mamlu dams, the four major dams that supply water to Tehran Province, is 6 percent of the total capacity of these dams’ reservoirs, and the citizens of Tehran Province consume a quarter of the country’s drinking water. Given the rainfall conditions and the decline in dam reserves, we ask citizens to cooperate as before to overcome these conditions.
Ardakani stated that currently 60 percent of Tehran citizens consume up to twice the prescribed amount and 5 percent more than twice the prescribed amount, and announced the per capita consumption of each Tehran citizen as 250 liters per day, saying: "This figure is very high compared to the per capita consumption pattern of 130 liters, and we hope that the general public will help us safely overcome the drought and water shortage by saving 20 percent and that high- and low-consumption subscribers will help us by fundamentally changing their consumption behavior."
The finger of blame should not be pointed at the people
According to this report, although all officials believe that the best solution to overcome this situation is to reduce water consumption by 20 percent, but considering that the published images of Tehran's dams show them flooding, it is better to consider a measure for this issue because we cannot always point the finger of blame at the people. Of course, with solutions such as water recycling, separating water meters, and making them smart, high-consumption subscribers can be easily identified. In addition, by preventing the cultivation of water-intensive crops, we can hope to improve the state of water resources. However, we must ask Tehran Water and Sewerage Authority what solution they have adopted to supply water to all parts of Tehran and not shirk their responsibility, other than reducing consumption by 20 percent!
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