Tehran’s Amir Kabir dam holds just 14 million cubic metres, an official warns, providing only two weeks of water for the capital amid severe drought
TEHRAN: Tehran’s main source of drinking water could run dry within two weeks due to a historic drought, state media reported on Sunday.
Behzad Parsa, director of the capital’s water company, stated the Amir Kabir dam currently holds just 14 million cubic metres of water.
He confirmed this volume represents only eight percent of the dam’s total capacity.
Parsa warned that at this critically low level, water supply for Tehran can only be sustained for another two weeks.
The Amir Kabir dam is one of five reservoirs supplying drinking water to the capital.
Tehran is a megacity nestled against the Alborz mountains and home to more than 10 million people.
The country is currently experiencing its worst drought in many decades.
Rainfall levels in Tehran province have been nearly without precedent for a century.
Parsa revealed the Amir Kabir dam held 86 million cubic metres of water just one year ago.
He reported a 100 percent drop in precipitation has occurred across the Tehran region.
Parsa did not provide any details regarding the current status of the other four reservoirs.
Iranian media reports indicate Tehran’s population consumes approximately three million cubic metres of water daily.
Water-saving measures have already been implemented, including supply cuts to several neighbourhoods.
Frequent water outages were also reported throughout the summer months.
Authorities declared two public holidays in July and August to conserve water and energy.
Power cuts became an almost daily occurrence during the recent heatwave.
Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian previously warned the water crisis is more serious than publicly discussed. – AFP
