SEMNAN, Semnan Province Iran is on the brink of a serious water crisis, alarmed Iranian Deputy Energy Minister Gholamreza Manouchehri here Sunday.

Manouchehri, who was addressing a ceremony to inaugurate several water development projects in the central Iranian Province of Semnan, stressed the need to economize on water supplies.

He expressed regret that the country's underground water supplies had substantially diminished due to overuse of water resources for irrigation.

Some 90 percent of the country's water supplies, he added, are being used in the agriculture sector which produces less than 1 kilogram of crop using one cubic meter water, whereas in the developed countries with the same amount of water 2 kilograms of crops are produced.

Manouchehri said that some of the ways for optimal use of supplies are to increase irrigation and production efficiency and apply more convenient cultivating approaches.

A dry spell has been raging through Iran for the last four years thus leaving several major water resources dried out. The drought has so far inflicted heavy damage on the country's agricultural sector.

Iranian officials are currently considering rationing water in Iran's drought stricken provinces, including the capital, Tehran.

(IRNA)