Caspian, Persian Gulf Water Plan Unfeasible

EghtesadOnline: Water transfer from the Caspian Sea in the north and the Persian Gulf in the south to dry and water-stressed regions in central Iran is not economically viable and needs more thorough studies, a former member of World Water Council said.

News ID: ۷۴۵۰۱۸

18 February 2018

“Proponents of the plan intend to spend 10 trillion rials [about $211 million] to supply 50 million cubic meters of water per annum to the central provinces. This is while according to the Energy Ministry’s official data, about 400 million cubic meters of water is wasted annually,” Abbasqoli Jahani was also quoted as saying by ILNA on Wednesday.

Jahani noted that to evaluate the inter-basin transfer of water, experts need to know answers to questions such as whether the destination area’s water demand has been calculated? On what basis? And what reasons have led officials to consider water transfer?

Interbasin transfer or transbasin diversion refers to manmade conveyance schemes that move water from one river basin to another basin where water is less available, usually for development purposes, Financial Tribune reported.

Referring to a meeting on water transfer from the Caspian Sea, which was held about a year ago, he said that during the meeting, water officials did not clearly provide logical reasons for the plan, which would have immense social and environmental impacts on the regions concerned.

--- Ambiguous Plan

“It was previously said that the plan will deliver 200 million cubic meters of water from the Caspian Sea to central provinces, but was then changed to 50 mcm per year,” Jahani said, stressing that this shows ambiguity about the project’s goals and instability in decision-making.

In addition to non-revenue water, wastage in the water sector stands at 30%, or 400 million cubic meters per annum, the expert said, underscoring that the main reason behind the issue is Iranian cities’ dilapidated water networks.

According to Jahani, interbasin water transfer in itself is not questioned in the international arena, but the circumstances under which the plan is to be implemented are ambiguous.

“In my view, there is no need to transfer water either from the Caspian Sea or from the Persian Gulf, and the issue should be considered more thoroughly, comprehensively and independent of the government and political pressures,” he said.

Since its presentation, the project has raised environmental concerns. Mohammad Darvish, who heads the Public Participation Office at the Department of Environment, believes the project will result in large-scale deforestation in the Hyrcanian Forest that borders the southern shores of Caspian Sea, the disputed legal status of which further complicates the project.

Critics say there are more feasible, better and lasting solutions to the regions’ water woes.

Rainwater harvesting, judicious water use (especially in the agricultural sector), promoting modern irrigation techniques, recycling wastewater, separating potable water from wastewater and implementing watershed plans are among measures suggested by experts to help conserve water.