A scandal caused by a water dam in Iran
The construction of a large dam project in Iran is coming to an end. But ecologists and archaeologists say the dam will end an entire area fed by the Venus River in the southwest of the country.
The opening of Chamshir Dam, the country’s largest hydroelectric facility, is scheduled for March. To the project protest those who do demand that it be stopped. They say that this clause village it will turn agricultural lands into saline, and flood newly discovered archeological sites.
As early as the 1960s, the government was considering projects to increase electricity generation and irrigation capacity in the impoverished Khuzestan province and other southwestern provinces of the country. However, the Venus River, which will fill the reservoir, is no longer at its level in the 1960s.
Seasonal droughts in recent years Iran reduced the salty waters of the river flowing into the bay. As a result, the flora and fauna dependent on the floodplains are in danger due to the lack of water complaint residents of Khuzistan started protesting.
The huge dam and hydroelectric plant were financed with a high-interest loan of $244 million from China. The operator of the dam said that the capacity is 2.3 billion cubic meter water reservoir will produce 482 megawatts of electricity per year. The government said that this project will meet the water needs of farmers and village says it will increase farm productivity.
However, the residents of the region, which is located on the huge gypsum and salt rocks called “Gachsaran formation”, are worried about the possible disaster, considering the previous failures of the government.
Built in the 1990s and located just 250 kilometers northwest of the Chamshir project, the Gotvand dam is located next to a large salt deposit. Despite all warnings, the project was launched and the government was faced with a reservoir full of salt water.
Angry protesters took to the streets of Khuzestan and neighboring Isfahan province in 2021, blaming the Chadegan Dam, 250 kilometers north of the Chamshir Dam, and other major projects dating back to the 1970s for water problems.
There are more than 140 ancient historical sites from the Sassanid and Islamic eras in the area that is planned to be turned into a water reservoir. 124 of them were newly discovered. But archaeologists have very little time to excavate the site. They are worried that these precious gems of the country’s history will be submerged. In addition, there is a threat of evicting modern nomadic communities living in the area.
Environmentalists also point to the presence of oil wells in addition to salt deposits. They demand the immediate termination of the project and a thorough study of the area.
The dam’s operators have dismissed this criticism as unfounded, dismissing concerns about high salinity levels. They based their argument on the fact that nearby salt deposits are hundreds of meters deep.
Dam manager Mahmoud Muharnia he said at a press conference in December that “there is no evidence of salt in the area” and comparisons with other conflicting projects are wrong. Muharnia also said that the reservoir will be filled with water coming in during the winter flood season, which will reduce the salinity of the Zohra River and bring higher quality water.
However, these arguments did not reduce the concerns of critics. Scientists and environmentalists continue to make videos, sign petitions and send open letters.
A renowned botanist who has studied Iran’s saline landscapes for decades Hussein Akhani In 2021, Instagram showed that high salinity was already affecting the flora near the new project.
“Your dam was so salty that it was exposed after only two days of travel. You can deceive illiterate officials with your false claims, but the truth is not hidden.” – Akhani wrote in the comment on the video he shared.
Recently, university professors and environmental experts called the Chamshir dam a “danger” in a petition signed by 23,000 people. They explained it by the defects in the bed of the reservoir and the presence of 11 oil wells in the vicinity. The authors of the petition, including Akhani, said that preventing the flow of winter floodwaters would hinder the processes of natural desalination and soil fertilization, and would create a pile of dust.
Other scholars have tried to highlight other problems. They argued that nomadic lifestyles would be threatened, dependence on Chinese investment, a loss of trust in government, and the continuation of flawed American ideas of development that date back decades to the Islamic revolution of 1979.
In an interview with “Payam-e ma” newspaper published in Tehran at the end of December, the public relations manager of Chamshir Dam Mehdi Hajikazim said that these concerns are unfounded. Hajikazim said that the results of the study on the project are “publicly available” and that the scientists conducting the study believe that there is no danger from the dam.
“It is not in my power to stop the project or not. But as a patriotic Iranian, I can say that this clause is really necessary.” Hajikazim accused the critics of opposing the construction of dams under any conditions.