The spokesperson for the Iranian regime water industry stated that currently “269 cities” in the country are facing water stress.
In a meeting on the country’s water industry held on August 14, Hashem Amini, in response to a question from the regime’s ILNA news agency regarding cities experiencing water stress, said that the Doosti Dam in Mashhad is in a critical condition and the Nahand Dam in Tabriz has also been lost.
“The groundwater in the city of Zanjan and Tabas, as well as the “Chahnimeh” wells in Sistan and Baluchestan province, are also at risk”, Amini added.
“Chahnimeh” or “half well” refers to four large natural reservoirs in Sistan and Baluchestan province, which are fed by the surplus water of the Hirmand River through a canal.
While the spokesperson for the water industry states that these water supply sources in Sistan and Baluchestan are only in “jeopardy,” Iranian media have reported their drying up in the past two years.
Despite this, the spokesperson for the water industry mentioning “new water supply projects” in various parts of the country stated, “We do not have a severe water shortage.”
In October 2021 the state-run Mehr News Agency reported that one of the Chahnimeh wells had completely dried up and the volume of water in the other three wells had drastically decreased, stating, “Due to repeated droughts and the failure to provide the water ration of Hamun Lake, the situation of these wells is critical.”
On the other hand, other regions of Iran have also faced water scarcity with the onset of the hot season.
On July 14 the regime’s Jamaran website reported that the Malashie region in western Ahvaz, with a population of 80,000, has been without piped water for over “30 days,” and some villages in the Gheyzaniyeh district, 50 kilometers away from this city, are facing water shortage.
The CEO of Qeshm Free Zone: People here have no water
Meanwhile, the CEO of Qeshm Free Zone, expressing the “tragic” water situation on this island, stated that “people here have no water.”
In a press conference on Tuesday, Adel Peyghami, emphasized that the regime’s authorities have asked him not to report a dire picture of the water situation in Qeshm, stating: “People are suffering. We are in an extremely critical situation.”
The CEO of Qeshm Free Zone pointed out that the water issue has been neglected for years, and the necessary investments have not been made, stating: “The house I live in one of the villages in Qeshm only receives water supply once every 60 days.”
Peyghami continued by saying that he has written a letter every month to the regime’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, on this matter, adding: “The Ministry of Energy must answer why they don’t allocate a budget to purchase water.”
Although drought is considered one of the factors contributing to the water stress in Iran, the share of inefficient management in this crisis is also significant.
For example, for years, the regime’s officials have been reporting a 25 percent loss of drinking water in the worn-out water grid, but no action has been taken to solve this problem.
While one-fourth of the country’s purified water is wasted, according to the assessment of the Research Center of the regime’s Majlis (parliament), more than half of Iran’s population is facing water stress.
Despite the constant criticism of the officials regarding “reckless waste” of water in the country, the consumption of drinking water by citizens, without accounting for losses in the outdated transmission and distribution network, is 6.4 billion liters per year, which is exactly equivalent to the domestic water consumption of Germany with a similar population to Iran.
The prospect of a rebellious million-strong population of the capital, suffering from water shortages, terrifies the clerical regime more than anything else. In recent months, several instances of water outage in Tehran sparked widespread anger and demonstrations, with thousands of people taking to the streets.
The devastating consequences of the regime’s mismanagement and negligence have led to a catastrophic depletion of water resources. The people of Iran, fully aware of the impending danger, are determined to resist and fight for their fundamental right to water, clean air, equality and basic human rights.
