Water reserves behind Khuzestan dams declined; Karkheh power plant taken offline

While the people of Khuzestan are currently struggling with dust and sand storms, breathing heavily in the hot weather of the province, experts are warning about water shortages and power outages in the coming spring and summer seasons in this province and neighboring regions.

According to the state news agency IRNA, the deputy director of the Khuzestan Water and Electricity Organization stated that the volume of water behind the Karkheh dam has decreased by 1 billion and 600 million cubic meters compared to the same period last year, saying: “If we do not manage water resources and consumption properly, we will face problems in meeting the vital water needs of the province, including drinking water for the people.“

The current water level in the Karkheh dam is 19 meters lower than last year. This comes as Khuzestan authorities announced last year that “the useful volume of the Karkheh dam has decreased by 70 percent compared to normal conditions.”

Kawthar Nik Ahang, a geologist and water correspondent, told Voice of America that “the Karkheh dam and other dams in Khuzestan province are in very poor condition due to reduced rainfall and drought, as well as due to uncontrolled exploitation of the rivers in the province.”

Kawthar added that diversion and excessive use of Karkheh water and the lack of water rights allocation have caused excessive drying of Hawizeh Marsh and intensified the dust phenomenon in the south of the country, stating: “Governments’ disregard for geological and environmental studies in dam construction and climate change has caused water shortage and environmental problems throughout the country, and if the current trend continues, these problems will worsen further.“

The manager of dam and river reservoir planning at the Khuzestan Water and Electricity Organization also warned ISNA about the decline in electricity generation from the province’s dams.“

Ali Sharifi stated that the current electricity supply to the country from the Karun basin is in unfavorable conditions, adding: “The Karkheh dam power plant has been completely taken offline due to the drop in water level.“

The Karkheh dam, Iran’s largest dam, was designed to prevent devastating floods in Khuzestan province and generate 934 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually

Source: Voice of America