Water levels below 3% in dam reservoirs for Iran’s Mashhad

Water levels at the dam reservoirs supplying Iran’s north-eastern city of Mashhad have plunged below 3%, according to reports, as the country suffers from severe water shortages.

“The water storage in Mashhad’s dams has now fallen to less than 3%. The current situation shows that managing water use is no longer merely a recommendation - it has become a necessity,” chief executive of the water company in Hossein Esmaeilian said.

Mashhad, Iran’s second largest city by population, relies on four dams for its water supply.

Esmaeilian said consumption in the city had reached about “8,000 litres per second, of which about 1,000 to 1,500 litres per second is supplied from the dams”, ISNA reported.

Authorities in Tehran warned over the weekend of possible rolling cuts to water supplies in the capital amid what officials call the worst drought in decades. Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian has cautioned that without rainfall before winter, even Tehran could face evacuation.