Proposed Minister of Energy: The Gotvand Dam was Filled Due to a 'Political Decision'

Habibollah Bi-Taraf, the proposed Minister of Energy in the twelfth government, announced that the implementation of the Gotvand Dam project began during the government of Mohammad Khatami and was filled under a 'political' decision during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency. According to the House of Representatives news agency, Bi-Taraf made this statement on Sunday, August 13, during a meeting with members of the so-called 'Hope Faction' and said: The construction of the Gotvand Dam was initiated in 1996 and was one of the executive plans of the Ministry of Energy during the seventh and eighth governments, which was 'executed in a diluted manner.' He added that during Ahmadinejad's government, studies were conducted to identify the 'salt dome,' and before the complete implementation of the plan to separate this salt dome from the reservoir and the clay blanket, the dam was filled due to a 'political' decision. As this proposed minister stated, 'All the current problems of the Gotvand Dam stem from this incorrect decision.' He further added, 'This decision caused water to infiltrate the central parts after filling and the salty section to dissolve in the lake, leading to salinity and problems with the inflow of salty water into the Karun River.' Bi-Taraf also mentioned that 'over 90% of the salinity of the Karun is related to the inflow of untreated urban and industrial wastewater and sugarcane, with only 10% resulting from the inflow of salty water from the Gotvand Dam.' In another part of his remarks, the proposed minister stated that 'the discussions in social media and the media regarding my involvement in the problems of the Gotvand Dam are incorrect.' The Tabnak website also reacted to these remarks on Tuesday, August 15, by referring to him as 'responsible for the salinization of the Karun River' following the construction of the Gotvand Dam and wrote that 'the major problem encountered in the construction of the Gotvand Dam was identified from the beginning; however, addressing it was never on the agenda.' Tabnak added that Habibollah Bi-Taraf, during his tenure as Minister of Energy in Khatami's government, did not explain 'why no solutions were prepared to mitigate this risk from the start of the construction operations of this dam.' The site also assessed Bi-Taraf's insistence on the effectiveness of the 'clay blanket' plan for the Gotvand Dam as an 'incredulous' assertion on his part. 'Tabnak' further described the collapse of the expensive 'clay blanket' implemented three days before the filling of the Gotvand Dam as a 'failed plan' that 'neither stopped the filling of the dam nor stirred the water.' The Gotvand Olia Dam, built on the Karun River, is the tallest earthen dam in Iran, and its reservoir is considered the second-largest artificial lake in Iran after the Karun. The reservoir of this dam contains salt layers that cause the salinity of the Karun lake water. Following the filling of the Gotvand Dam in 2011, warnings were raised about the infiltration of water into the salt layers of this dam. In this context, Ismail Kahrm, an environmental expert in Tehran, stated in an interview with Radio Farda that 'the Gotvand Dam has caused the salinity of the Karun water. The construction of this dam has rendered many agricultural lands in Khuzestan province unusable and destroyed them.' Meanwhile, the Water Institute of the University of Tehran was tasked with researching ways to mitigate the salinity of the Gotvand Dam reservoir. According to Mohammad Ali Bani Hashemi, the head of the Water Institute of the University of Tehran, this institute proposed two methods, 'reservoir management' and 'salinity discharge,' to solve the problem of this dam. Based on the 'salinity discharge' method, the water from this dam in the salt formation section must be transferred via a pipeline 35 kilometers away from the dam body, where the salt is separated from the water. According to Ministry of Energy officials, based on the 'reservoir management' method, the water from the upper part of the dam, which has low salinity, is mixed with the reservoir water, which has high salinity, and 'water with a specified and desirable salinity' is directed downstream. Some experts have also suggested dismantling the Gotvand Dam, but the responsible authorities oppose this suggestion. The 'Sepasad' company, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was the builder of the dam, and the 'Mahaab Quds' company was the consulting engineer for the Gotvand Dam. Part of the shares of the Mahaab Quds company also belongs to the Astan Quds Razavi. Nevertheless, Abadollah Abdollahi, the commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters, stated that this headquarters had no role in the design of the Gotvand Dam and was only the executor of the project, thus not responsible for 'this unsuccessful experience.' In this regard, the Iranian Deputy Minister of Energy stated that solving the salinity problem of the Gotvand Dam would take eight years. The advisor to the governor of Khuzestan warned that the Gotvand Dam would act like a ticking time bomb. The Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters stated that it is not responsible for the unsuccessful experience of the Gotvand Dam. The Gotvand Dam can increase the salinity of the Karun water by up to 'ten times.' The University of Tehran has been tasked with addressing the situation of the Gotvand Dam. Jahangiri stated that the Gotvand Dam is one of the pollutants of the Karun water.