Every summer my father planned a trip that took us around
Iran. That meant over the years we got to visit more that 75% of the land mass
of the country. Our journey started from the southwest city of Ahvaz and took us all
over, from west to east, south to north. We crisscrossed the
mountains, the rivers, the greenery and the dry landmass that represented the
amazing and eclectic Iranian
topography. From the Zagros to the
Alborz Mountains, from Karoon to Aras River, from Kavir to the Lut desert, we
climbed it, swam in it and drove through it. One of my most memorable part of
these voyages through Iran (though not always my favorite!) was my dad stopping
the car in the middle of nowhere and giving us a bath using the many small
waterfalls that flowed out of the mountains, all I remember is how much I hated
the cold water and how clean and refreshed I felt after the bath. When we found
a river, we would stop by and eat our breakfast or lunch next to it, enjoying the clean, clear water and the soothing sound of water
flowing...sitting under the tree that provided us the shelter.
On one of the trips we went to an amazing body of water
located in north western Iran called Lake Urumiyeh. As soon as my dad had
parked the car we ran out towards the lake. As we got closer we felt the
heaviness of the air. We got to the edge which was full of green algae, with a
bit of encouragement and pushing from my older siblings, I rushed into the
water. As soon as I plunged in, I felt a strong burning sensation in
my eyes, no one told me that lake Urumiyeh was a salt lake. My eyes were
burning and I decided to come out quickly and try to fix it. A local guy standing
there seeing my agony approached my parents and gave them a cucumber and told
them to put it in my eyes and that would sooth my discomfort. That day I was introduced
to a water system, that held a prominent place not only in Iran and the
middle east but globally too. Lake Urumiyeh was the biggest salt lake in the
Middle East and the sixth largest in the world.
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| Lake Urumiyeh 1980s |
Tragically, over the past few years, Lake Urumiyeh along
with the many water ways of Iran are either in decline or dying. Though climate
change can be blamed for some of the declining water levels and river beds in
Iran, the main culprit is the mismanagement of water. There are many experts both in Iran
and from outside that are warning about the water crisis and the long-term consequences
that could lead Iran to become a “water-insecure” nation.
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| Lake Urumiyeh today |
A serious commitment to addressing Iran’s water crisis by
the Iranian authorities and utilizing both domestic and international
expertise, will be go a long way to prioritize water on the national dialogue
and policy.
For thousands of years the people of Iran used engineering ingenuity
to manage water to be able to live and thrive in an otherwise harsh environment.
This ingenuity is still there and must be allowed to express itself to solve
this crisis and revive Iran’s water system.
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| The threatened River Karoon |
I think of my days as we crossed the bridge over the once
mighty River Karoon and with that image in my mind recall the beautiful poem
of the late Iranian poet, Sohrab Sepheri who writes…
Let's not muddy the water.
Imagine that close by a dove
is drinking from it,
or in a distant grove a finch
is washing its wings in it,
or in some village it fills a storage jar.
Let's not muddy the water.
Perhaps this flowing stream runs
by the foot of a poplar tree
and eases some heart's grief.
A dervish, perhaps,
has moistened his crust in it.
A young woman stood on its bank---
the water doubled her beauty.
Let's not muddy the water....
Imagine that close by a dove
is drinking from it,
or in a distant grove a finch
is washing its wings in it,
or in some village it fills a storage jar.
Let's not muddy the water.
Perhaps this flowing stream runs
by the foot of a poplar tree
and eases some heart's grief.
A dervish, perhaps,
has moistened his crust in it.
A young woman stood on its bank---
the water doubled her beauty.
Let's not muddy the water....
