Lake Urmia water level increases largely as Iran continues restoration program

Iran has reported a major increase in water levels at Lake Urmia, nearly a decade after the government kicked off a massive restoration program to prevent the lake from drying up.

News ID: 5882

Date: 29 January 2025 - 10:18

TABNAK, Jan 29: A local subsidiary of Iran’s Energy Ministry in West Azerbaijan province, where Lake Urmia is located, said that the amount of water in the lake had increased by 0.19 billion cubic meters to 1.24 billion cubic meters in the year to January 24.

It said in a statement that the depth of water in Lake Urmia had increased from 1,270.05 meters to 1,270.13 meters over the same period.

The statement said the increase in water levels had allowed the lake to expand by 160 square kilometers to 930 square kilometers in the year to late January.

It said the increase in water levels in Lake Urmia is a sign that efforts carried out for the restoration of the lake have been successful.

The figures came after a former head of the Iranian Department of Environment criticized the current administrative government for failing to properly manage Lake Urmia and its restoration program.

Issa Kalantari said that water levels in the lake had started to decrease again because of lower water supplies and also because of rising temperatures that speed up evaporation.

Lake Urmia, a salt lake in northwest Iran near the border with Turkey, began to dry nearly two decades ago because of the excessive use of water from rivers feeding the lake as well as the construction of a controversial bridge over the body of water.

Iran has spent more than $1 billion since 2015 on dams and water transfer projects to restore Lake Urmia.

Experts believe the amount of water in Lake Urmia should reach over 5 billion cubic meters so that it can become ecologically stable.