Urmia Lake sees rise in water level
Apparently the latest measures taken by the government, as well
as rainfalls have contributed to the reviving process of the drying
up Urmia Lake in northwest of Iran.
Morteza Mousavi, an official at Iran Water Resources Management
Company, said that the water level in the Urmia Lake has improved
following the recent rainfalls in the country and the government’s
decision to release 60 million of cubic meters of water from the
Boukan dam.
He said that the present [for December 2015] water level of the
lake is 1270.27 meters above sea, which has decreased by 24
centimeters compared to the same time last year.
He further added that the country’s agricultural ministry is
planning to modernize the irrigation systems in lands surrounding
the lake in order to save water.
The lake has been drying up and is currently in a state of
ecological crisis with major impacts on biodiversity and
socio-economic conditions as the water level continuously decreased
and salt concentration increased, according to the United Nations
Development Programme(UNDP).
Reduced precipitation apparently because of long-term climate
change, more water abstraction from rivers and ground water
resources, increasing trends for water and land development
projects in provinces, expansion of agricultural lands, use of
traditional irrigation systems, existing of unauthorized irrigation
wells, planting crops that consume a lot of water are among the
main reasons for the ecological crisis.
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