Water Supply Systems in Central Iran

This chapter gives an overview of water resources in central Iran. Iran enjoys various climatic and geographical conditions which have led to different strategies that the inhabitants have taken to adapt themselves to their environments. In the central plateau of Iran, the climatic and geographical conditions gave rise to the technology of qanat which then underlay the production systems in this region. In the past, central plateau of Iran had no water supply source but qanat to provide the agricultural and domestic sectors with water. Nowadays the urban sprawl and modern development have raised the level of water demand to the extent that the ancient qanats are no longer able to meet. Therefore many desert cities like Yazd have resorted to other alternatives such as tube wells and inter-basin water transfer in order to supply the required water. Nevertheless the qanat legacy which is reflected in the socio-economic structures still lives on.