Statements by Iranian regime officials at the beginning of the summer indicate that water stress has spread across most of the country’s provinces, with the situation particularly alarming in Tehran.
Under these circumstances, experts say that short-term measures such as water conservation or water transfer projects may ease some of the current pressure, but they are insufficient on their own to address the full scale of the crisis.
Water stress in 58 cities across 23 provinces.
Hashem Amini, chairman of the National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company, said that 58 cities in 23 provinces are currently experiencing water resource stress.
The water crisis has become so severe that even Iran’s mountainous provinces are experiencing water stress. For example, Lorestan Province, despite being one of Iran’s wettest provinces and the source of many rivers, is facing water shortages due to both natural and managerial factors.
Rama Habibi, deputy director for protection and operations at the Tehran Regional Water Company, recently told the state-run ILNA news agency that population growth is the greatest challenge to Tehran’s water supply. He said, “Without securing sustainable water resources, no additional population should be added to the capital.”
According to him, about 45% of Tehran’s water supply currently comes from groundwater and 55% from surface water.
Tehran’s Subsidence and Drying Wetlands Reveal New Dimensions of Iran’s Water Crisis
The water crisis in Tehran is largely the result of uncontrolled urban development. The city’s ecological capacity has been ignored. Tehran has a large population, and water consumption is correspondingly high. While drought may have intensified the crisis, it is not the primary cause. Poor governance, excessive centralization, and development without regard for ecological limits are among the key factors that have led to the current situation.
Water consumption patterns in Tehran differ significantly from those in the rest of the country. Agricultural water use in Tehran Province is well below the national average, while urban water consumption is considerably higher. Excessive reliance on groundwater has also made the region increasingly unsustainable and poses a major risk.
How much are the people to blame?
Iran’s regime has long urged citizens to conserve water, but household consumption accounts for only a small share of the country’s total water use.
Fatemeh Mohajerani, spokesperson for the government of Iranian regime president Masoud Pezeshkian, recently said at a press conference regarding the government’s efforts to address the water crisis: “The government has implemented measures such as restrictions, including allocating water based on agricultural patterns, distributing water according to production models, and prioritizing drinking water. These are among the policies the government has pursued over the past two years.”
However, she once again shifted the responsibility to the public, saying that “per capita water consumption should be reduced to 130 liters per person. At present, in some areas, per capita consumption exceeds 250 liters per person, which is approximately two to two and a half times the global standard.”
The government’s flawed solutions to the crisis.
Alongside managing existing resources, the regime has also launched new projects. These include transferring water from the highlands of Tonekabon and operating the second Taleghan water transfer pipeline to increase the capital’s water resilience.
The methods adopted to secure water supplies in recent years have consistently been temporary fixes. Iranian regime officials have failed to pursue logical and sustainable solutions, making governance a critical issue in addressing the crisis.
Cloud seeding is another approach that can only have a limited effect under very specific conditions, when humidity is high and suitable cloud formations exist. It is therefore not considered a practical long-term solution.
The continuing land subsidence crisis.
Iran’s water crisis is the worsening problem of land subsidence.
The deputy director for protection and operations at the Tehran Regional Water Company told the state-run ILNA news agency that the highest rate of land subsidence has been recorded in the Varamin area. He added that more than 5,700 illegal wells have been sealed over the past two years, but this has failed to halt the subsidence.
To stop land subsidence and prevent further depletion of groundwater resources, closing legal and illegal wells alone is not sufficient. Conditions must also be created to allow aquifers to recharge.
In Tehran, construction, asphalt paving, concrete surfaces, highways, and urban expansion have all increased significantly. As a result, the ground has become increasingly impermeable, groundwater extraction exceeds natural recharge, and this imbalance has lowered groundwater levels, leading to land subsidence.
Overall, the statements made by officials and experts indicate that Iran’s water crisis is no longer merely a temporary or seasonal challenge. It has become a structural and multidimensional problem tied to patterns of urban development, groundwater management, and climate change. Most importantly, the Iranian regime’s mismanagement has brought the country’s water crisis dangerously close to a point of no return.
