Critical Water Crisis: Tehran's Main Drinking Water Source Nearly Depleted Amid Historic Drought

Iran is currently experiencing its most severe drought in decades. (Representative)

State media issued a warning on Sunday that Tehran's primary drinking water source could be depleted within two weeks due to a historic drought situation.

According to IRNA news agency, Behzad Parsa, director of the capital's water company, stated that the Amir Kabir dam, one of five dams supplying drinking water to the capital, "currently holds just 14 million cubic metres of water, which represents only eight percent of its capacity."

At this critically low level, the dam can only continue providing water to Tehran "for two weeks," he warned.

Tehran, a megacity with a population exceeding 10 million, is situated against the southern slopes of the frequently snow-covered Alborz mountains, which reach elevations of up to 5,600 metres (18,000 feet). Rivers flowing from these mountains typically feed multiple reservoirs serving the city.

However, the country is currently suffering from its worst drought in decades. Last month, a local official declared that the level of rainfall in Tehran province was "nearly without precedent for a century."

Parsa mentioned that one year ago, the Amir Kabir dam contained 86 million cubic metres of water, but there has been a "100 percent drop in precipitation" throughout the Tehran region.

He did not provide information regarding the status of the other reservoirs in the system.

Iranian media reports indicate that Tehran's population consumes approximately three million cubic metres of water daily.

As a water conservation measure, supplies have reportedly been cut off to several neighborhoods recently, while outages were common during the summer months.

In July and August, two public holidays were declared to conserve water and energy, with power cuts occurring almost daily during the heatwave.

Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian cautioned at that time: "The water crisis is more serious than what is being discussed today."