Mahabad Dam Water Reserves Rise by 30 Million Cubic Meters; Important Decision for Farmers

The water reserve of the Mahabad Dam has reached 80 million cubic meters, 30 million cubic meters more than the same period last year. Despite the increase in reserves, zero inflow into the reservoir has been reported, and the water release schedule for farmers' autumn planting depends on rainfall conditions.

The director of water resources affairs in Mahabad said: The water level of the dam in this city is five meters higher than the same period last year, with a height of 1,345 meters and 31 centimeters above the level of the open seas.

On Tuesday, Khaled Rahmani said in a conversation with Ambassador Arjan: "The water storage volume of Mahabad Dam has now reached 80 million cubic meters, which is 30 million cubic meters more compared to the same period last year."

He added: Despite the larger volume of water stored in the dam compared to last year, currently the water input to the reservoir is zero and its output continues with a flow rate of 1.05 cubic meters per second to supply drinking and industry needs.

Referring to the water supply plan for the agricultural sector in the current crop year, the director of water resources affairs of Mahabad said: In the last crop year, 90 million cubic meters of water was released from the Mahabad dam to irrigate agricultural lands.

Rahmani continued: For the current crop year, which has started since the beginning of October, five million cubic meters of water has been approved to meet the needs of farmers for autumn crops, which will be released according to the conditions of the region and the amount of needs of the fields.

He stated that the release of this amount of water is planned for the first decade of November, and added: The implementation of this program depends on the rainfall and water needs of farmers, and in case of effective rains and water supply to the fields through rainfall, there is a possibility of canceling the release.

Mahabad Dam has a nominal capacity of 197 million cubic meters and a useful capacity of 172 million cubic meters, which, in addition to supplying drinking water to the city, also covers more than 12 thousand hectares of agricultural land in this city.

This dam, which was built on the western side of this city, is only one kilometer away from the city, and in this sense, it is the closest dam to residential areas in the world.

Mahabad is located in the south of West Azerbaijan.