Iran’s Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian, in a ceremony on Thursday, launched the canal system in West Azerbaijan province to supply up to 180 million cubic meters per year of water from Badinabad dam to Lake Urmia.
Lake Urmia was once one of the world’s sixth saltwater lakes and the biggest of its kind in West Asia.
Unsustainable water consumption by farmers in the region and climate change have taken a toll on the lake.
However, the lake has been in a better condition due to the increase in downpours in the catchment area and the release of water from upstream dams.
