Tehran water consumption hits 3bn litres a day as Iran braces for crisis summer

Daily water consumption in the Iranian capital Tehran has climbed to nearly three billion litres before the start of summer, with reservoirs sitting at just 22% of capacity, according to newly released information on May 14 by state media.

The Tehran Province Water and Wastewater Company recorded instantaneous consumption of 38,000 litres per second, with three million evaporative coolers already in operation and 300mn litres of water per day being used for cooling alone in what is expected to be the worst year for drought yet. 

Tehran and large parts of the country have endured five consecutive years of drought, with healthy rainfall in March and April failing to close the deficit in reservoirs supplying the capital.

The strain on water and power infrastructure is converging with broader pressures on Iran following the recent 40-day conflict with the United States and Israel, a fragile ceasefire and an extended period of semi-wartime conditions that have left the energy and utility sectors exposed.

President Masoud Pezeshkian has issued repeated calls in recent days for households and businesses to cut consumption, framing conservation as a national duty rather than a discretionary measure.

Authorities have pointed to results from last year as evidence that demand-side management can deliver. A 25-litre reduction in per capita daily water use in Tehran achieved savings equivalent to twice the capacity of the Latyan Dam, one of the main reservoirs serving the capital, without a material drop in living standards.

Officials have flagged what they describe as "hidden water thieves" in residential properties, including undetected leaks, ageing coolers, non-standard fittings and unnecessary consumption that compound at a national scale.

The government has been urged to accelerate structural reforms alongside its conservation drive, including the rehabilitation of ageing water and power networks, expansion of renewable energy, support for low-consumption appliances and a review of national water policy.

Iran's electricity grid faced repeated blackouts and load-shedding during the summer of 2025, with peak demand outstripping generation capacity as gas supplies to power plants were diverted to residential heating in winter and industrial use throttled in summer.

The Tehran reservoir system, fed primarily by the Latyan, Lar, Amir Kabir, Mamloo and Taleghan dams, has been operating well below historical averages for several consecutive years.

Alireza Jazghasemi, managing director of Tehran Province Water and Wastewater Company, said the capital's dams remained in a fragile state earlier in April.

Tehran sits at the top of the list of Iran's driest provinces, he said earlier this year, with the Salt Lake catchment basin provinces of Tehran, Alborz, Markazi, Qazvin and Semnan all recording poor rainfall.

While Tehran's rainfall improved 10% compared to the previous water year, Jazghasemi said the precipitation had not translated into adequate runoff to replenish the capital's reservoirs. He expressed hope that snowmelt and spring rains in late April and May could help stabilise dam levels.

Jazghasemi said the company's main strategy for the current year was demand management and expanding the use of water-saving devices, alongside network repairs and meter replacements. He said public cooperation in reducing consumption was essential.

To compound the stress on the national water system, 18 Iranian provinces are experiencing below-normal rainfall, with national precipitation at just 84.7% of the long-term average since the start of the current water year, ISNA reported on April 14, citing Meteorological Centre data.