Water Inflow to Iran's Dams Decreased by 25%

According to statistics from Iran's Ministry of Energy, since the beginning of the current water year (October 2014), the water inflow to the reservoirs of Iran's dams has decreased by 25% compared to the same period last year. The mentioned statistics indicate that the water available in these dams is also about 10% less than the same period last year. ISNA news agency reported on Tuesday, March 23, that the volume of water entering the reservoirs of Iran's dams has decreased to 11 billion and 330 million cubic meters, continuing a downward trend. According to the Ministry of Energy, this amount was reported as 15 billion and 80 million cubic meters during the same period last year. Meanwhile, the current volume of water available in Iran's dam reservoirs has decreased by 7.9% compared to the same time last year, reaching 20 billion and 590 million cubic meters. The volume of water in the country's dam reservoirs during the same period last year was reported to be about 22 billion and 800 million cubic meters. In this context, Hamid Chitchian, Iran's Minister of Energy, announced in his New Year message that a large part of Iran is still facing severe drought. On March 7, 2015, Mr. Chitchian reported that at the request of the Ministry of Energy from the High Water Council, an order was issued to form a 'Drought Crisis Headquarters' in Iran's provinces. On the same day, the Ministry of Energy reported a 16% decrease in water inflow to the country's dam reservoirs from the beginning of October until that date, stating that 59% of the reservoirs of the country's large dams are empty. Meanwhile, Yaqoub Hemmati, the director general of the Planning Office of Iran's Water Resources Management Company, reported on February 7 last year that from the beginning of the water year (October 2014 to mid-February), rainfall in Iran has decreased by 27% compared to last year and by 26% compared to the 'long-term average.' According to the Ministry of Energy, the volume of water discharged from Iran's dams has also been reported as 11 billion and 80 million cubic meters since the beginning of the current water year. This is while the water discharged from the country's dams during the same period last year was 11 billion and 360 million cubic meters. Accordingly, the volume of water discharged from the country's dams has decreased by 2.5% compared to the same period last year. In this context, '600 surface and underground lakes' in Iran are drying up, more than half of Iran's dam reservoirs are empty, and an American expert stated that Isfahan residents must make difficult decisions regarding water. The United Nations has warned that in 15 years, we will face a 40% reduction in water resources.