Iran transfers water to densely populated central provinces of the country from the basins out of the region in order to meet the water need for drinking and irrigation purposes. Shelving the Caspian Sea project aiming to transfer water to central provinces, Iran's President Rouhani's statements show that the projects on the Karun river basin which has been used as a donor basin in inter-basin water transfers for many years will be pursued.
Originating in Iran's Khuzestan province, Karun river is one of the most significant transboundary rivers of the region. The Karun River's watershed covers 58.000 km2, and according to the gauging station in Ahvaz, the river has an average annual discharge of 24,7 billion cubic meters. The Dez river with an average annual discharge of 7,4 billion cubic meters joins the Karun river in Ahvaz; while the Karun river joins the Shatt al-Arab in Al-Muhamara with a discharge of some 10 billion cubic meters. Iran has built many dams and water structures on the Karun river. The Karun river and Dez river waters are transferred to the Zayanderud sub-basin which is one of the most densely populated and industrialized regions of Iran through canals and tunnels; and the water is stored in multiple-purpose dam of Zayanderud that was built in 1970.
The Behesht – Abad project which involves the transfer of more than 1 billion cubic meters of water from the tributaries of the Karun River to the central provinces of Iran such as Yazd, Isfahan and Kerman is the fourth project carried out on the Karun river aiming to transfer water. The statements of President Rouhani who paid a visit to the region last week suggest that only the aforesaid project will meet the drinking water need of the provinces. Besides, the President Rouhani also said that the previous projects in the basin will be stopped.
The Karun river water which is a vital source for the region will not flow into the Persian Gulf after the project opposed by the local people and environmentalists is completed. Moreover, it is reportedly said that the projects carried out on the Karun river and its tributaries, not in good quality and full of salt due to the formations they pass through, will further impair the quality of the river waters. Also, this water is of great importance for the existence of the Shadegan Wetland that is located in the Khuzestan province. The Shadegan Wetland is the largest Ramsar-listed wetland of Iran covering about 400,000 hectares. According to the studies, 110 plant species and 311 animal species have been identified in the wetland. The Ramsar-listed Shagedan wetland, registered in 1975, is internationally recognized due to its high animal biodiversity and registered on UNESCO's natural heritage list.
Another criticism on the project suggests that the project will affect the capacities of hydropower plants, dams, and derivation tunnels (such as Kuhrang tunnels) constructed in the basin. Some of these dams can be listed as follows: Gotvand Dam, Masjed Soleyman Dam, Kuhrang Dam, Bakhtiyari Dam, Kuhrang-1, Kuhrang-2, Karun-3, Karun-4 and Karun-5 dams.
These projects which are carried out on the Karun river, a transboundary basin between Iran and Iraq, have impacts not only in Iran; but also the studies conducted by the Iraqi researchers suggest that the projects on the Karun river will lead to a considerable decrease in quantity of water to join the Shatt al-Arab. This situation in the Karun river, containing low-quality water due to its salty structure, has hydrological impacts in Iraq as well. As is known, a considerable part of the tributaries feeding the Tigris river out of the Karun river originates in Iran. Iran continues to construct great projects especially on the Sirwan and Karun rivers, which cause worries in Iraq. It is worried that this situation will lead to political problems in the future in relations between the two countries due to both ecological and hydrological impacts.
