“Sixty billion rials [$500,000] was invested in the project that will help improve quality of potable water in the district and nearby villages,” Feizollah Pasareh was quoted as saying by the Energy Ministry news portal.
Pasareh noted that the plant will supply safe drinking water to people in the area who have been grappling for years with low quality water, especially in winter when tap water is brown or discolored due to the accumulation of untreated minerals and sediments in the water mains.
In view of dwindling rainfall in the past and rising water consumption, authorities including Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian have called for more attention to collecting, treating and recycling water.
Over 7.5 billion cubic meters of usable water is produced annually of which 4.3 bcm is wasted, the minister says. Less than 25% of wastewater is recycled, which is unacceptably low.