“Currently six wastewater treatment plants are operating in Tehran producing 45,000 cubic meters of sewage a day,” the Energy Ministry news portal Paven quoted Pejman Mohajeri as saying.
The output, which complies with environmental standards, goes to south Tehran for farming, but is also suitable for watering green spaces and industrial use, he said.
Tehran Municipality uses groundwater for watering green spaces, and excessive groundwater pumping has led to rapid decline in groundwater levels, Financial Tribune quoted Mohajeri as saying.
Recalling that wastewater plays an important role in curbing the loss of water resources in many countries, he said: “The TPWWC is ready to provide 45,000 cubic meters of wastewater to municipal districts 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6”.
Tehran wastewater treatment plants are located in Shahrak-e Gharb, Shahrak-e Mahallati, Ekbatan Town, Zargandeh, Qeytariyeh and Sahebqaraniyeh districts.
An estimated $2 billion have been spent on developing wastewater infrastructure in the capital that is home to at least 10 million people.
The expansion of wastewater networks has been a priority in recent decades as it helps prevent pollution of underground water and reduces the need to tap into dwindling underground water tables.
Expediting the construction of wastewater treatment plants in Tehran is high on the TPWWC agenda and pipe-laying works have been undertaken in most districts to connect households, businesses and industries to the wastewater network.
Of the 9,000 km wastewater pipelines designed for the capital, close to 7,000 km are in place.
According to long-term development programs, Tehran wastewater network should be completed by 2023. Upon completion, 250 million cubic meters of recycled water will be added annually to the water reserves for use in farms, green spaces and industrial units.
Tehran’s water reserves amount to 1.06 billion cubic meters, 70% of which come from surface waters and 30% groundwater.
Nationwide, there are 220 wastewater treatment plants and total sewage treatment capacity has reached 11 million cubic meter per day.
An additional 30 plants are in different stages of construction and should come on stream by 2021.
Over 63,000 km of wastewater pipelines have been laid across the country and 295 cities are connected to the wastewater networks.
Over 7.5 billion cubic meters of usable water is annually produced, of which 4.3 bcm is wasted and less than 25% of wastewater is recycled.
If not treated properly, wastewater can have dire consequences on human health and the environment.