Water scarcity in Iran
This means Iran is utilizing nearly all of its available water supply for agriculture, industry, and domestic use, leaving little to no buffer for periods of drought or variability in rainfall.
[10] Iran's susceptibility to high variation in temperature and precipitation has led to the creation of dams and reservoirs to regulate and create a more stable water flow throughout the country.
[14] Environmental issues such as decreasing rainfall, low precipitation levels due to climate change have aggravated Iran's water scarcity in recent years.
Wealthier northern districts of Tehran have significantly benefited from greater investments in water infrastructure, resulting in more advanced distribution systems and enhanced storage facilities.
[27] About 2,500 years ago, Iranians invented a number of ways to use groundwater, including a water management system called qanat.
However, many of these systems have been abandoned and replaced by other methods over the past few decades, mainly due to socio-economic conditions and changing water extraction technology.
Concerning municipal wastewater, the bulk of collected sewage is discharged untreated and constitutes a major source of groundwater pollution and a risk to public health.
Drying rivers and lakes has also caused extensive protests, especially among farmers, who have been forced to abandon their fields due to a lack of water.
[30] Most drinking water in Iran is supplied through modern infrastructure, such as dams, reservoirs, long-distance transmission pipelines—some of which are more than 300 km (190 mi) long—and deep wells.
An estimated 60,000 traditional Karez (کاریز) systems in the plateau regions of Iran in Yazd, Khorasan and Kerman—are still in use today for irrigation and drinking water supply in rural areas and small towns.
Water shortages, particularly in rural and agricultural regions, are forcing thousands of people to abandon their homes and livelihoods, leading to a phenomenon known as "environmental migration."
This migration creates new social, economic, and political challenges as more Iranians move to crowded urban areas, intensifying existing pressures on infrastructure and public services .
In recent years, Khuzestan has witnessed a significant exodus of its rural population as people move to cities for work and better living conditions.
This environmental migration from Khuzestan has led to social tensions in the region, as local communities face declining living standards and heightened unemployment.
Tehran, for instance, has seen its population swell, reaching over 9 million people in recent years, with many newcomers being rural migrants displaced by the water crisis.
This migration surge has increased demand for housing, water, sanitation, and other services, worsening problems such as air pollution and traffic congestion.
The government has struggled to manage this influx, and tensions between long-term residents and new migrants are rising, adding another layer of complexity to Iran's social challenges.
With climate change expected to exacerbate Iran's water shortages further, the number of people forced to migrate will likely increase in the coming decades.
According to some estimates, up to 50 million Iranians could face severe water shortages by 2050, potentially leading to one of the largest migration waves in the region.
Failure to address the root causes of water scarcity, such as poor governance and unsustainable agricultural practices, will likely lead to further displacement, with significant social and economic consequences for rural and urban communities.
With approximately 90% of Iran's water resources allocated to agriculture, the inefficiency of irrigation practices and the overreliance on groundwater are leading to severe depletion of these vital reserves.
These policies fail to address the root causes of scarcity and disproportionately affect rural and peripheral communities, leading to civil disorder.
Reports also indicate that certain agricultural and industrial enterprises with ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have received significant amounts of water, while small farmers and rural communities struggle with severe shortages.
This "water mafia" controls major infrastructure projects like dam construction, prioritizing financial and political gains over environmental and social considerations.
[41] Iran's central government prioritizes water allocation for industrial and urban centers, often at the expense of rural and minority populations.
Iran's water policy is also characterized by an overreliance on dam construction and large-scale diversion projects, primarily benefiting politically connected enterprises and urban elites.
This has led to the drying of rivers, wetlands, and other vital ecosystems, intensifying dust storms and land subsidence in regions like Khuzestan and Sistan-Baluchestan.
[43] In December 2013, Hamid Chitchian, head of the Ministry of Energy, which is in charge of regulating the water sector—stated that the sector's situation had reached "critical levels".
[44] In July 2013, Issa Kalantari, the Minister of Agricultural under president Hashemi Rafsanjani, told Ghanoon newspaper that the water crisis is the "main problem that threatens" Iran, adding that it is more dangerous "than Israel, USA or political fighting among the Iranian elite".
This reduction would severely affect not only agriculture but also drinking water supplies and energy production, amplifying social unrest and environmental degradation.
