Residents of Abadan Protest Again Over Water Shortages and Salinity

A group of residents in the city of Abadan gathered on Saturday, June 23, for the umpteenth time in recent days to protest against the salinity and shortage of water in front of the city's governorate. According to the state news agency IRNA, the protesters carried placards that read 'Clean water is our undeniable right' and chanted slogans against the governor and the officials of the water and sewage department in Abadan. The report states that the protesters are concerned about the salinity of the water and the interruptions in water supply for several hours a day, with some stating that they have to wait in long lines every day and night to obtain drinking water. Additionally, the Tasnim news agency reported that the salinity of Abadan's water is so high that home water purification devices are unable to treat it. On June 20, hundreds of residents of Abadan had also gathered in front of the city's water and sewage department to protest against the salinity of water and the rationing of drinking water. The day before, the water and sewage department of Abadan had announced that due to 'the salinity of the Bahmanshir River at sea water levels, the cessation of water extraction from this river, and pressure drops, water will be rationed in this city.' The department also stated that water in Abadan would be rationed 'until the end of July.' The governor of Khuzestan and other officials in the province have promised that with the full operation of the second water supply line of Ghadir, the water problem in Abadan and Khorramshahr will be resolved by the end of July. The Ghadir water supply project began in 2010 for 'some priority cities such as Abadan, Khorramshahr, Masjed Soleiman, Andimeshk, Dezful, and Shushtar, and 1,200 villages in Khuzestan province.' The salinity of water in Abadan has also led to a 48-hour shutdown of part of the petrochemical complex in the city. Meanwhile, Mohsen Kab Amir, the public relations officer of the Abadan petrochemical complex, stated on Saturday that to prevent technical damage to the equipment, part of the units of this complex was taken offline for 48 hours. The salinity and turbidity of the water in the cities of Abadan and Khorramshahr have repeatedly led to protests from residents over the past decade. Besides these cities, many regions in Iran have been struggling with water scarcity in recent years. Meanwhile, Reza Ardakanian, the Minister of Energy, has described this year as the hardest year in terms of water supply in the country in the last half-century and warned that 334 cities with a population of 35 million are facing water stress this year.