Iran’s water authority said on Tuesday that two-thirds of the country’s dam capacity is empty and rainfall has reached historic lows, with 20 of Iran’s 31 provinces recording no precipitation since the start of the new water year in late September.
Ali Seyedzadeh, the director general of the National Water and Wastewater Management Office, told state television that rainfall across Iran since the beginning of October totaled just 2.2 millimeters -- down 83% from last year and 77% below long-term averages.
“We are in an extremely concerning situation,” he said, warning that weather forecasts show no rain in the coming weeks.
He added that the decline has left reservoirs severely depleted, with major dams including those supplying Tehran, Isfahan, and Khuzestan operating at minimal levels.
Seyedzadeh said Tehran’s five main dams now hold less than 200 million cubic meters of water -- about one-third of their normal volume -- with the Amir Kabir Dam at only 8% of capacity and the Laar Dam at 1%.
He said nationwide water loss through aging pipelines is estimated at 15%, and called for urgent measures such as installing smart meters and water-saving devices in high-use households.
Looming water rationing in Tehran
Authorities in Tehran have warned that the capital could face water rationing within weeks as the city’s main reservoir, the Amir Kabir Dam, is nearing depletion.
Habibi, deputy head of Tehran’s Regional Water Company, said the Amir Kabir Dam -- one of the capital’s five main water sources -- holds only about 14 million cubic meters of water, compared to 86 million cubic meters a year ago.
“Only four or five million cubic meters remain extractable,” he told the semi-official Tasnim news agency. “We urgently need public cooperation to manage water consumption efficiently.”
“We hope to see precipitation later in the water year to make up the deficit,” Habibi said, adding that conservation “is the only short-term solution to protect Tehran’s limited water reserves.”
Officials said the dam is now 85% empty, describing the situation as critical. The company’s head, Behzad Parsa, told IRNA last week that the reservoir’s remaining capacity would cover less than two weeks of the city’s demand.
Tehran, home to nearly nine million people, depends on five dams -- all reporting sharp declines.
The Laar and Mamloo reservoirs are at 1% and 7% capacity respectively, while only Taleghan remains above one-third. Local newspaper Haft-e Sobh warned that if autumn rains fail to materialize, “widespread rationing and water cuts” could begin across the capital.
