By Maryam Manzoori | 2025-03-29

Droughts and reduced rainfall have plunged Tehran's water reserves to their lowest level in five decades, with aging infrastructure, inadequate policies and poor governance compounding the crisis, experts told Pishtaz.

Mismanagement of water resources has transformed a natural challenge into a national emergency, they said.

One of Tehran's main drinking water sources is Karaj (Amirkabir) dam, which currently holds about 7% of its capacity, per the Ministry of Energy.

Across the city's five principal dams -- Latyan, Mamloo, Lar, Taleqan and Karaj -- collective reserves stand at around 15% of capacity, with Lar at 7% and Mamloo at 14%.

In parts of Tehran province, such as Damavand and Firuzkuh, residents now depend on water tankers for drinking supply, while 40% of farmland in eastern counties lies fallow due to insufficient irrigation.

Ministry officials blame public consumption as they discuss possible water rationing.

But water rationing does not address the root of the problem, experts said.

"This is not a solution because it won't change consumption habits," said Kamal, a mechanical engineer at an industrial plant in Tehran province.

"Plus, citizens' consumption habits are the last factor to blame the crisis on."

Temporary fixes such as transferring water from Taleqan to Karaj are insufficient for Tehran's growing population, he said, and even with adequate rainfall, the absence of responsible and educated leadership prevents meaningful change.

"Land recessions across the country signal that underground water sources are drying out due to uncontrolled well construction," Kamal said.

"There's no environmental vision, and ordinary citizens bear the cost without power to hold leadership accountable."

Widespread mismanagement

Tehran has become increasingly dependent on groundwater.

Dams once supplied 70% of the city's drinking water, and wells 30%, but that ratio has reversed, with nearly 70% now coming from underground reserves, Sazandegi newspaper reports.

The water crisis is symptomatic of broader governance failures, said Bahram, a retired electronic engineer who worked in the hydroelectric sector under the current regime and the Shah.

"What officials call 'imbalances' are full-blown crises," he told Pishtaz. "The Islamic Republic's 2005 Vision Plan promised to make Iran the region's economic hub. Instead, 20 years later, Iran does not even have electricity."

Poor planning compounds the crisis, from water-intensive farming in arid regions to lack of cooperation with neighboring countries.

"The regime lacks both coherent policies and planning," Bahram said. "They promote self-sufficiency in crops like rice and watermelon without considering water costs."

Widespread mismanagement and lack of groundwater protection have accelerated Iran's path to drought, he said.

-- Some sources who spoke with Pishtaz withheld their full names for security reasons and so they could speak more freely.