Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Wind, hydro and other renewables · Iran · 1996–2021

Gotvand dam on the Karun: a reservoir on a salt formation

Nature's voice · report
About 3.5 million tonnes of salt dissolved in my reservoir water by the end of 1390 and about 7.7 million tonnes by the end of 1391, according to Aftab.
Did nature suffer? Yes. Harm is on record. Disputed
Recorded
  • At a dissolution rate of 0.5 cm/h, salt accumulation in my reservoir would be 875 kg/s, according to a 2017 modelling study by Naderkhanloo, Mazaheri and Samani. Naderkhanloo, Mazaheri and Samani, Journal of Environmental Studies
  • Farmland irrigated with my water was threatened by saline water on over 420,000 ha, according to the head of Khuzestan Agriculture Jihad. Aftab News
  • Without the dam, my water at the dam site would be about 25% better, according to the University of Tehran Water Institute; the Institute said this is not a 25% share of my total salinity. Mashregh News
  • Lower layers of my reservoir reached up to about 150,000 µS/cm in 2014, while the dam's deputy director gave the outflow as 1,200–1,400 µS/cm. Mehr News Agency
What the record lacks: 3 none on record · 7 disputed · 1 unclear See the gaps
Accounts of the harm differ
How much of the Karun's salinity the dam causes
  • Government and regulators Habibollah Bitaraf, Energy Minister nominee (August 2017): Over 90% of Karun salinity comes from untreated sewage, industry and sugarcane; about 10% from the dam. Radio Farda
  • Researchers University of Tehran Water Institute (M. A. Banihashemi, July 2021): Without the dam Karun water at the dam site would be about 25% better; this is not a 25% share of total Karun salinity; some Ministry of Energy experts reject the figure. Mashregh News
  • Government and regulators Dam deputy director Mohammad Hossein Manavifar (March 2014): Salt entering the Karun is below the river's tolerance; the salt mass should dissolve within one to two years. Mehr News Agency
  • Researchers Mohammad Javad Abdollahi, retired dean of geology at Chamran University (2021): He warned in 2001–2002 that the salt is up to 93 m thick and said the clay blanket broke within days. Entekhab
  • Press and investigations Digiato (August 2021), citing researcher Mohammad Darvish via Eghtesad Online: Salinity has hit the Khuzestan plains. Digiato
Why the reservoir was filled before the salt was isolated
  • Government and regulators Habibollah Bitaraf, Energy Minister nominee (August 2017): Impoundment before isolating the salt dome and finishing the clay blanket was a "political decision"; water seeped through and dissolved salt. Radio Farda
  • Researchers University of Tehran Water Institute (July 2021): The clay blanket was not designed to last; the Supreme Water Council's partial resolution on remedies was largely ignored. Mashregh News
  • Government and regulators Tooraj Hemmati, former Khuzestan Department of Environment director (2015): The dam's environmental impact study was never submitted to the Department. Aftab News
How much salt has entered the water
  • Press and investigations Aftab (February 2015): About 3.5 million tonnes in the reservoir water at the end of 1390 and about 7.7 million tonnes at the end of 1391. Aftab News
  • Press and investigations Mehr (March 2014), citing Dr Ghomeshi: About 7 million tonnes of salt. Mehr News Agency
  • Press and investigations Digiato (August 2021): About 17 million tonnes of salt had entered the Karun since the dam was built; attribution unclear. Digiato

The Gotvand dam on the Karun river in Khuzestan was impounded in July 2011 with a reservoir touching the Gachsaran salt formation. Aftab reported about 7.7 million tonnes of salt in the reservoir by the end of 1391 (March 2013), and sources differ on how much of the Karun's salinity the dam causes.

≈ 7.7 million tonnesSalt in the Gotvand reservoir water at the end of 1391 (March 2013), per Aftab
Aftab (2 February 2015) gave about 3.5 million tonnes at the end of 1390. Mehr (2014) cited about 7 million tonnes; Digiato (2021) cited about 17 million tonnes entering the Karun since the dam was built.

Status As of August 2021: the dam's share of Karun salinity remained disputed; remediation options costed in 2015 are not recorded as funded and no court case is on record.

What?
The Gotvand dam on the Karun was impounded in July 2011 with a reservoir touching the Gachsaran salt formation; salt dissolved into the reservoir and the Karun, about 7.7 million tonnes by the end of 1391 according to Aftab, and over 420,000 ha of irrigated farmland was threatened by saline water. Aftab News
Where?
The Karun river upstream of Gotvand, Khuzestan province, south-west Iran. Entekhab
When?
Site chosen 1368 (1989); groundbreaking 1375 (1996); impounded 28 July 2011; Inspection Organization conclusion 24 December 2012; remediation costs August 2015. Aftab News
Who?
Gained
  • Ministry of Energy / dam owner — Completed and impounded the dam in 2011 at a cost the Inspection Organization head gave as 2,000 billion toman Fararu
Lost
  • State — Remediation options costed at 350–850 billion toman in 2015; the Inspection Organization concluded in 2012 the dam could not continue operating as it was Aftab News
Harmed
  • Karun river — Salt dissolved from the Gachsaran formation into the reservoir and the river Aftab News
  • Irrigated farmland in Khuzestan — Over 420,000 ha threatened by saline water Aftab News
Why?
Bitaraf said impoundment before isolating the salt dome and finishing the clay blanket was a "political decision"; the Water Institute said the clay blanket was not designed to last; the dam's environmental impact study was never submitted to the Department of Environment, according to its former Khuzestan director. Radio Farda
How?
Water seeped through the clay blanket and dissolved salt from the Gachsaran formation, about 12% of whose surface was in contact with water in 2014. Mehr News Agency
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Habibollah Bitaraf, nominated for energy minister in August 2017, said groundbreaking at Gotvand was in 1375 (1996); Entekhab dated the site choice to 1368 (1989). The dam was impounded on 28 July 2011 (6 Mordad 1390) with President Ahmadinejad attending, according to Aftab. The reservoir has a capacity of 4.67 billion m³ at 230 m. Gachsaran formation salt outcrops lie about 4.5 km from the reservoir's east shore; a 15 m clay blanket built to slow dissolution is now submerged. Dam deputy director Mohammad Hossein Manavifar said in March 2014 that about 12% of the formation's surface was in contact with water, and Mehr reported about 2.2 km of cracks near the reservoir along the formation.

Bitaraf, nominated for energy minister in August 2017, said impoundment before the salt dome was isolated and before the clay blanket was finished had been a "political decision" and that water seeped through and dissolved salt. Aftab reported about 3.5 million tonnes of salt in the reservoir water at the end of 1390 and about 7.7 million tonnes at the end of 1391. Mehr (2014) cited about 7 million tonnes (Dr Ghomeshi) and lower layers of up to about 150,000 µS/cm, while the dam's deputy director gave the outflow as 1,200–1,400 µS/cm. Digiato (2021) said about 17 million tonnes of salt had entered the Karun since the dam was built; the source of that figure is unclear. Naderkhanloo, Mazaheri and Samani (2017) modelled salt accumulation of 875 kg/s at a dissolution rate of 0.5 cm/h.

General Inspection Organization head Mostafa Pourmohammadi said on 24 December 2012 (4 Dey 1391) that the Organization had concluded the dam "cannot continue operating under current conditions" and had decided on draining the reservoir and a change of land use (Fararu, citing the Organization's website). In March 2014 the reservoir still held about 3 billion m³ at 135 m. A later Inspection Organization head, Seraj, said the reports were confidential until court proceedings, Aftab reported in 2015. Former Khuzestan Department of Environment director Tooraj Hemmati said the dam's environmental impact study was never submitted to the Department; deputy Ali Mohammad Shaeri said a second impoundment stage would be blocked if downstream quality changed.

Construction cost was given as 2,000 billion toman spent (Pourmohammadi, December 2012), about 2,500 billion toman (geologist Mohammad Javad Abdollahi, 2021) and about 7,000 billion toman (Digiato, 2021). Deputy Energy Minister for Water Rahim Meidani gave two remediation options in August 2015: a Ministry of Energy plan to pipe saline water to the Persian Gulf for 850 billion toman, and a University of Tehran Water Institute plan with evaporation ponds for about 350 billion toman. Deputy governor Ahmad Sayahi spoke of a 220 km line to the Persian Gulf within five years.

The dam's share of the Karun's salinity is disputed. Bitaraf said over 90% of the Karun's salinity comes from untreated sewage, industry and sugarcane, and about 10% from the dam. The head of the University of Tehran Water Institute, M. A. Banihashemi, said in July 2021 that without the dam Karun water at the dam site would be about 25% better, that this is not a 25% share of total Karun salinity, and that some Ministry of Energy experts reject the figure; he said salt input from the formation had been nearly zero after 1395 (2016). No court case has been reported.

  1. 1989Site chosen (1368)
  2. 1996Groundbreaking (1375), according to Bitaraf
  3. 2011Impoundment attended by President Ahmadinejad (28 July)
  4. 2012General Inspection Organization head says the dam cannot continue operating as it is and calls for draining the reservoir (24 December)
  5. 2014Dam deputy director says about 12% of the formation's surface is in contact with water (16 March)
  6. 2015Aftab reports about 7.7 million tonnes of salt in the reservoir (2 February); Deputy Energy Minister gives remediation costs (August)
  7. 2016Salt input from the formation described as nearly zero afterwards by the University of Tehran Water Institute
  8. 2017Bitaraf calls the impoundment a "political decision" (August)
  9. 2021Banihashemi on the dam's share of salinity (July); Digiato reports about 17 million tonnes of salt entering the Karun (August)

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“political decision”

Habibollah Bitaraf, Energy Minister nominee, on impounding the reservoir before isolating the salt dome · August 2017 · translated from Persian · Radio Farda

“cannot continue operating under current conditions”

Mostafa Pourmohammadi, head of the General Inspection Organization, on the dam (reported by Fararu citing the Organization's website) · 24 December 2012 · translated from Persian · Fararu

“Without having access to the complete data, it is hard to hold governmental and local institutions accountable.”

Small Media, on Iran's dam database (as reported by Radio Farda) · 31 October 2017 · Radio Farda (English)

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

How much of the Karun's salinity the dam causes
Government and regulators
Habibollah Bitaraf, Energy Minister nominee (August 2017)

Over 90% of Karun salinity comes from untreated sewage, industry and sugarcane; about 10% from the dam.

Radio Farda
Researchers
University of Tehran Water Institute (M. A. Banihashemi, July 2021)

Without the dam Karun water at the dam site would be about 25% better; this is not a 25% share of total Karun salinity; some Ministry of Energy experts reject the figure.

Mashregh News
Government and regulators
Dam deputy director Mohammad Hossein Manavifar (March 2014)

Salt entering the Karun is below the river's tolerance; the salt mass should dissolve within one to two years.

Mehr News Agency
Researchers
Mohammad Javad Abdollahi, retired dean of geology at Chamran University (2021)

He warned in 2001–2002 that the salt is up to 93 m thick and said the clay blanket broke within days.

Entekhab
Press and investigations
Digiato (August 2021), citing researcher Mohammad Darvish via Eghtesad Online

Salinity has hit the Khuzestan plains.

Digiato
Why the reservoir was filled before the salt was isolated
Government and regulators
Habibollah Bitaraf, Energy Minister nominee (August 2017)

Impoundment before isolating the salt dome and finishing the clay blanket was a "political decision"; water seeped through and dissolved salt.

Radio Farda
Researchers
University of Tehran Water Institute (July 2021)

The clay blanket was not designed to last; the Supreme Water Council's partial resolution on remedies was largely ignored.

Mashregh News
Government and regulators
Tooraj Hemmati, former Khuzestan Department of Environment director (2015)

The dam's environmental impact study was never submitted to the Department.

Aftab News
How much salt has entered the water
Press and investigations
Aftab (February 2015)

About 3.5 million tonnes in the reservoir water at the end of 1390 and about 7.7 million tonnes at the end of 1391.

Aftab News
Press and investigations
Mehr (March 2014), citing Dr Ghomeshi

About 7 million tonnes of salt.

Mehr News Agency
Press and investigations
Digiato (August 2021)

About 17 million tonnes of salt had entered the Karun since the dam was built; attribution unclear.

Digiato
What the dam cost
Government and regulators
Mostafa Pourmohammadi, General Inspection Organization head (December 2012)

2,000 billion toman spent.

Fararu
Researchers
Mohammad Javad Abdollahi, geologist (2021)

About 2,500 billion toman.

Entekhab
Press and investigations
Digiato (August 2021)

About 7,000 billion toman.

Digiato

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • Over 90% of the Karun's salinity comes from untreated sewage, industry and sugarcane; about 10% from the dam
    Habibollah Bitaraf, Energy Minister nominee, August 2017 · Radio Farda
  • Salt entering the Karun is below the river's tolerance; the salt mass is expected to dissolve within one to two years
    Mohammad Hossein Manavifar, dam deputy director, March 2014 · Mehr News Agency
  • The clay blanket was not designed to last; the salinity of the discharge never exceeded permitted limits
    M. A. Banihashemi, head of the University of Tehran Water Institute, July 2021 · Mashregh News

Recorded

  • About 3.5 million tonnes of salt in the reservoir water at the end of 1390 and about 7.7 million tonnes at the end of 1391 (Aftab, 2 February 2015)
    Aftab News
  • Over 420,000 ha of irrigated farmland threatened by saline water (Keikhosro Changalvaei, head of Khuzestan Agriculture Jihad)
    Aftab News
  • General Inspection Organization head Pourmohammadi: repeated irrigation with saline water is turning land into salt marsh; 600,000 (unit not stated) of cultivated land at risk
    Fararu
  • The dam's environmental impact study was never submitted to the Department of Environment (former Khuzestan director Tooraj Hemmati)
    Aftab News
  • Supreme Water Council: a partial resolution on remedies, largely ignored according to Banihashemi
    Mashregh News
  • Iran built about 600 dams over three decades; the Energy Ministry's online database lists more than 1,000 dams but only about 100 have complete information (Small Media research, via Radio Farda, 2017); Khatam al-Anbiya (IRGC) is described as the major stakeholder in dam building
    Radio Farda (English)

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

Not published
Remediation option: pipe saline water to the Persian Gulf (Ministry of Energy plan)850bn
Window: August 2015
850 billion toman; costed option; whether it was funded is not on record.
Remediation option: evaporation ponds (University of Tehran Water Institute plan)≈ 350bn
Window: August 2015
About 350 billion toman; costed option; whether it was funded is not on record.

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
Currency: toman · Window: Mixed — see each line. Figures cover different periods and are not compared as a ratio. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

  • iran-ministry-of-energy (August 2017): Energy Minister nominee Bitaraf: over 90% of Karun salinity comes from untreated sewage, industry and sugarcane and about 10% from the dam. · Radio Farda
  • iran-ministry-of-energy (March 2014): Dam deputy director Manavifar: salt entering the Karun is below the river's tolerance and the salt mass should dissolve within one to two years. · Mehr News Agency
  • university-of-tehran-water-institute (July 2021): The clay blanket was not designed to last and discharge salinity never exceeded permitted limits; without the dam Karun water at the dam site would be about 25% better. · Mashregh News
  • iran-doe (2015): Former Khuzestan director Hemmati: the dam's environmental impact study was never submitted to the Department; deputy Shaeri: a second impoundment stage would be blocked if downstream quality changed. · Aftab News
  • general-inspection-organization-iran (24 December 2012): Head Pourmohammadi: the dam cannot continue operating under current conditions; decided on draining the reservoir and a change of land use. · Fararu

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

  1. 2012–Outcome not on record
    General Inspection Organization finding on the Gotvand dam
    General Inspection Organization of Iran · Administrative · General Inspection Organization → Gotvand dam operation (Ministry of Energy)

    On 24 December 2012 (4 Dey 1391) the Organization's head, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, said it had concluded the dam could not continue operating under current conditions and had decided on draining the reservoir and a change of land use. In March 2014 the reservoir still held about 3 billion m³ at 135 m. A later head, Seraj, said the reports were confidential until court proceedings. Fararu

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Salt in the reservoir water
≈ 7.7 million tonnes
End of 1391 (March 2013), per Aftab; other sources give about 7 and about 17 million tonnes
Irrigated farmland threatened
over 420,000 ha
Head of Khuzestan Agriculture Jihad, cited by Aftab (2015)
Dam's share of Karun salinity
about 10%
Energy Minister nominee Bitaraf (2017); the University of Tehran Water Institute says Karun water at the dam site would be about 25% better without the dam
Remediation options costed
350–850 billion toman
August 2015; whether any was funded is not on record

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
No court caseNo independent ecological evaluation

Nature

  • Disputed How much of the Karun's salinity the dam causes
  • Disputed Why the reservoir was filled before the salt was isolated
  • Disputed How much salt has entered the water

Court

  • Unclear General Inspection Organization finding on the Gotvand dam: outcome not on record.

Accounts

Record

  • None on record None on record: a court case over the Gotvand dam; the Inspection Organization head said in 2015 that its reports were confidential until court proceedings.
  • None on record None on record: a total construction cost published by the Ministry of Energy.
  • None on record None on record: submission of the dam's environmental impact study to the Department of Environment, according to its former Khuzestan director.
  • Disputed Figures differ: salt mass of about 7.7 million tonnes (Aftab, end of 1391), about 7 million tonnes (Mehr, 2014) and about 17 million tonnes entering the Karun (Digiato, 2021).
  • Disputed Figures differ: construction cost of 2,000 billion toman (Pourmohammadi, 2012), about 2,500 billion toman (Abdollahi, 2021) and about 7,000 billion toman (Digiato, 2021).
  • Disputed Disputed: the dam's share of the Karun's salinity (see disputes).

Did the harm stop?

Sources do not agree on whether the salt input stopped: the University of Tehran Water Institute said salt input from the formation was nearly zero after 1395 (2016), while Digiato (2021) said salinity had hit the Khuzestan plains.

Who paid?

The Karun and the farmland irrigated with its water. Remediation options costed at 350–850 billion toman in 2015 are not recorded as funded.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society✓ Researchers

Press and investigations

  9. Iran's dams "disappeared" (Small Media data)
    Radio Farda (English) · 2017-10-31

Researchers

  1. Investigating and Modeling of Gotvand-Olya Dam Challenge and Management Solutions
    Naderkhanloo, Mazaheri and Samani, Journal of Environmental Studies · 2017

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Science and environment

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