DROUGHT AND WATER SHORTAGE, A SERIOUS CRISIS FOR IRAN

According to the existing evidence, exploiting many water resources of the country is reaching its crisis point. The water within all the major rivers has been exploited. Iran is headed for a water shortage of epic proportions, and little is being done to reverse a decades-long trend that has reduced the country’s water supply to crisis levels. Changes in the global climate, a century of rampant development and heavy subsidies for water and other utilities are all contributing to a situation that is likely to get much worse. “Our water usage is twice the world standard, and considering the situation in our country, we have to reduce this level,” Massoumeh Ebtekar, the vice president and the head of Iran’s Department of Environment, said in a recent speech. There are no considerable surface water resources available for exploitation and use. Ground water resources have also been irresponsibly used and these water supplies, which have been formed through millions of years and are practically irreplaceable, have been exploited by digging deep wells within the ground. In addition to the major cities, other population centers of the country have also faced the major alarming levels of water. We have to find a solution as soon as possible. Using a descriptive method, referring to the valid and scientific texts, interviewing with prominent professors of Universities and pundits, and investigating the reports of parliament and the cabinet about the crisis of water, this case study has been done in order to contribute to removing the problem by presenting fast, easy, and effective solutions; since continuing with the present trend in the coming years, would change Iran into a totally dry country.