TEHRAN, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) — The five main dams supplying water to Tehran are only 11 percent full, the semi-official Fars news agency reported Thursday, as the Iranian capital enters its sixth consecutive year of drought.
Excluding Taleqan Dam in the Alborz province, which had been added recently to Tehran’s water supply network, the figure drops to just five percent, head of the Tehran province’s Water and Wastewater Company Mohsen Ardakani was quoted by Fars as saying.
The Tehran province received only 159 mm of rainfall in the past water year starting from Sept. 22, 2024, the lowest in a century, and has recorded no precipitation since Sept. 23 this year, Ardakani said.
Current dam reserves stand at 252 million cubic meters (mcm), significantly below the 420 mcm recorded in previous years, he said, adding that weather forecasts indicate no substantial rainfall in the province until early December.
Despite utilizing underground reserves to maintain supply network sustainability, the situation is still critical, he said, urging citizens and government agencies to reduce water consumption to manage the crisis.
In August, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that parts of the country, including Tehran, were facing a “serious” water crisis.
