Amid a severe water crisis in Iran and growing public complaints over water cuts, Massoud Pezeshkian, the Iranian regime’s president, visited several dams in Alborz province, including Karaj Dam and Taleqan Dam.
On the evening of Thursday, July 24, following his visit to the Taleqan Dam water transfer project to Tehran, Pezeshkian told reporters: “As you can see, according to reports, the water level behind the Taleqan Dam has dropped by nearly 48 meters, which is a serious warning for the drinking water supply of the capital and nearby cities.”
He promised that efforts are underway to “rapidly transfer water from Taleqan to offset the water crisis in Alborz and Tehran provinces.”
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At the same time, Pezeshkian urged the public to “definitely conserve water until the current situation stabilizes.”
The state-run IRNA news agency also reported that in the current water year, the reservoirs of dams supplying drinking water to Alborz province have significantly decreased.
According to Iran Water Resources Management Company, Karaj Dam has seen a 60% drop in water levels, Taleqan Dam 33%, Lar Dam 25%, and Latyan Dam 45% compared to the previous year. The state-run IRNA described this situation as “fragile.”
Meanwhile, environmental experts have been warning for years about the threat of “water bankruptcy” in Iran, calling any water transfer project that is incompatible with regional climate conditions a temporary fix.
Water transfer project from Taleqan to Karaj and Tehran
This project by Iran’s Ministry of Energy is not new. Under the administration of former regime president Ebrahim Raisi—who died in a helicopter crash in May 2024—an 1,800-millimeter pipeline, 60 kilometers in length, was laid from Lake Ziaran near the Taleqan Dam to the Bileqan intake near the Karaj Dam.
Now, Pezeshkian’s administration claims it has accelerated the implementation of the project, stating that under the three years of former regime president Ebrahim Raisi, progress had reached only 27%, while under the current 14th government, progress has reached nearly 70% in just eight months.
According to project officials, Phase Two, which aims to deliver water to Tehran, will be completed in early October 2025.
They added that upon completion, the project would enable the annual transfer of “300 million cubic meters of water” to Alborz and Tehran provinces.
As the energy crisis deepens and multi-hour blackouts and water outages become more frequent across Iran, regime officials have resorted to weekday shutdowns to manage consumption. They hailed last Wednesday’s closure as a success and called for the continuation of such measures.
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In the past month, Iranian regime officials have attempted to curb consumption through emergency actions such as frequent water and electricity cuts and closing government offices on certain days.
On Sunday, July 27, Minister of Energy Abbas Aliabadi announced that the Wednesday, July 23 closure in various regions of the country led to a reduction of 19,000 megawatt-hours in electricity consumption compared to the previous day.
He said the shutdown led to a decrease in Tehran’s water consumption by 3,800 liters per second, equivalent to 418,000 cubic meters.
Earlier, some experts had emphasized that reductions in consumption following office closures and reduced mobility are natural, but such measures offer only short-term relief and cannot replace structural policymaking needed to manage the energy crisis.
A major share of electricity consumption in Iran comes from the industrial, administrative, and agricultural sectors, while about 90% of the country’s water is used in agriculture—factors that limit the household sector’s role in resolving the crisis.
Power generation at Karaj Dam likely to stop within two weeks
On July 27, Mohammad Ali Moallem, director of the Karaj Dam, warned that due to water shortages, although the hydroelectric power station at the dam is currently operational, water levels may drop within two weeks to the point where power generation will no longer be possible.
He added that if the water level falls below the lower intake gate, electricity generation will no longer be feasible.
