Iran finishing $80 mln water diversion project in Tehran

Iran’s Energy Ministry is completing a massive project to transfer water from a dam located more than 140 kilometers to the northwest of Tehran to the capital city amid efforts to ease water shortage in the region.

News ID: ۲۰۰۱۶۵۸

30 July 2025

Iran's Water Resources and Power Development Company said on Tuesday that the water diversion project from Taleqan Dam to Tehran would cost 70 trillion rials ($80 million) and would add 5 cubic meters per second to the water supply delivered to households and businesses in the city.

The company said that a first phase of the project would come on line in late August to help cope with water shortage issues in Tehran.

Hojattollah Mohaqeq, a contractor of the water diversion project, described it as one of the most complicated schemes ever launched and completed by the Iranian Energy Ministry.

Mohaqeq said that some 43,500 metric tons of 2,000-millimeter pipes have been supplied to the project over the past few months.

The project comes amid rising demand for water in Tehran, a city of nearly 10 million people, where consumption has reached 4 million cubic meters per day.

Temperatures have hit over 40 degrees Celsius in many parts of Tehran in recent days, causing a major rise in demand for water in traditional evaporative coolers, which are used by millions of households in the city.

The local water company has also lowered the pressure in transmission pipes in several neighborhoods of the city to be able to manage the water supply.

Iran’s Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi said last week that the amount of water in reservoirs around Tehran had fallen by 50% compared to last summer, adding that the reduction was the result of a 41% drop in precipitation during wet months./isna