Tehran is facing a worsening water crisis, with the capital’s major reservoirs at historic lows. The Amir Kabir Dam is currently at only 38% capacity, marking a 58% decrease compared to the same period last year. The situation is even more dire at Lar Dam, which has dropped to just 7% of its capacity, reflecting a 34% year-over-year decline. Other major dams such as Latian and Mamloo are also in critical condition, both operating at 20% capacity and showing a 47% reduction in stored water. While the Taleghan Dam remains in relatively better shape with 53% capacity, it too has seen a 32% decline from last year.
According to the Tehran Water and Wastewater Company, five consecutive years of drought and a dramatic reduction in rainfall—reportedly the worst in 60 years—have severely affected Tehran’s water reserves. Projections suggest that the Mamloo Dam may go offline by September 2025, with Lar, Latian, and Amir Kabir following soon after. Tehran’s water storage levels have now dropped to their lowest point in more than a century. This crisis has been driven by a combination of excessive water extraction, prolonged drought, and severe climate change.
Residents are already feeling the impact. Frequent and widespread water outages are occurring across many districts of Tehran due to falling water pressure and supply shortages. Iran’s energy minister has acknowledged that the government has no alternative but to ask citizens to endure the current conditions.
The roots of the crisis lie in three interrelated causes. First, poor water management has led to unregulated and illegal groundwater extraction, severely depleting underground aquifers and damaging the region’s water table. Second, climate change has caused declining precipitation and rising temperatures, placing even greater stress on already strained water supplies. Third, uncontrolled population growth and unregulated water consumption in residential, industrial, and agricultural sectors have placed unsustainable pressure on available resources.
The situation has escalated to the point that experts now warn of the risk of the ecological crisis triggering a broader cascade of failures. As vital life-sustaining resources such as water become unstable, national cohesion and security are increasingly threatened. While environmental degradation may not directly lead to state failure, it can accelerate it—especially when combined with poor governance, rising inequality, and economic crises. When large populations are forced to compete over limited water, land, and agricultural resources, the likelihood of conflict, migration, and unrest grows. The Iranian government has so far failed to respond adequately to past warning signs, such as the 2022 water crisis in Hamedan, which was effectively ignored and repressed despite its severity.
During that crisis, in August 2022, the city of Hamedan experienced a major water crisis. For over 30 to 40 hours, many residents had no access to running water, and the situation peaked on August 19 when the Ekbatan Dam ran dry and the city’s main water supply was completely shut off. Dr. Banafsheh Zahraei, a water resources expert and former secretary of the National Task Force on Water Adaptation, noted that residents were subjected to intense hardship. Emergency responses included water tanker distribution, bottled water handouts, and the import of water from neighboring provinces. Yet the deeper crisis extended beyond logistical challenges. Vulnerable populations such as the elderly, children, and the sick suffered greatly, and the event left a deep scar on the collective memory of the city. This scenario now serves as a stark warning to Tehran, which risks facing a similar humanitarian breakdown if immediate and decisive measures are not taken.
In response to the growing crisis, the government is fast-tracking the Taleghan Water Transfer Project. Taleghan Dam, located 65 kilometers from Tehran, remains a key water source for the capital. It currently holds over 200 million cubic meters of water. Ehsan Estahmami, engineering director of the second Taleghan pipeline, emphasized in a recent interview that Tehran is facing one of its most serious water challenges in decades. He warned that the city is likely to endure two to three extremely difficult weeks as summer water consumption rises. The first pipeline, operational since 2001, delivers 2.5 cubic meters per second of water to both Tehran and Karaj. The second pipeline, which is 80% complete, will double the total capacity to 5 cubic meters per second, again divided equally between the two cities.
The project has encountered numerous obstacles, ranging from military zones and industrial areas to private land and protected territories near Karaj, Kordan, and Koohsar. Still, 52 kilometers of the 62-kilometer pipeline have been completed. The first phase is expected to be operational by late August, increasing Tehran’s daily water supply by an additional 216,000 cubic meters. However, while this infrastructure project offers short-term relief, it cannot resolve the deeper structural issues that led to the crisis.
Experts argue that Tehran still has options, but time is running out. Immediate actions include tapping aquifers near treatment plants and deploying compact portable purification units to temporarily reinforce the water grid. Mid-term strategies focus on implementing advanced wastewater recycling systems using technologies such as ultrafiltration (UF), advanced oxidation (AOP), and reverse osmosis (RO). Although these systems require significant investment—estimated at $500 million—and two years to deploy at full scale, initial pilot phases could begin within three months in the most critical districts.
Deeper institutional reform is also necessary. Water governance in Iran is currently fragmented and inefficient. Experts have called for the creation of a centralized Ministry of Water and Environment to streamline decision-making and coordinate national policy. Pricing reforms are equally urgent. While household water should remain affordable as a public good, industrial and agricultural consumption must be restructured around economic value and efficiency to curb waste and eliminate unproductive sectors.
Finally, Iran must figure out a way to open its doors to foreign investment and advanced technologies. Without political and economic stability, and without global partnerships, no technical solution—no matter how innovative—will be sufficient. The Tehran water crisis is not merely a local emergency. It is a national warning. If ignored, it may set off a chain reaction of environmental, social, and political consequences with irreversible damage. The time to act is now.
