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The Zayanderud or Zayandehrud (; from rtl=yes "fertile" or "life-giver", and rtl=yes "river"), also spelled as Zayanderud or Zayanderood, ..., is the largest river of the Iranian Plateau in central Iran.
The Zayandeh used to have significant flow all year long, unlike many of Iran's rivers which are seasonal, but today it runs dry due to water extraction before reaching the city of Esfahan. In the early 2010s, the lower reaches of the river dried out completely after several years of seasonal dry-outs. BBC NEWS : "The Zayandeh rood river in Isfahan, one of Iran's main tourist attraction, has dried up."
The Zayandeh River basin has an area of , an altitude from to , an average rain fall of and a monthly average temperature of to . There are of irrigated land in the Zayandeh River basin, with water derived from the nine main hydraulic units of the Zayandeh River, wells, qanat and springs in lateral valleys. Zayandeh River water gave life to the people of central Iran mainly in Isfahan Province and Yazd provinces. Before the drying-out, water diverted per person was 240 litres (63 US gallons/53 Imperial unit) per day in urban areas and 150 litres (40 US gallons/33 imp gallons) per day in villages. In the 1970s, the flow of the river was estimated at per annum, or per second.Beaumont, Peter (October 1974) "Water Resource Development in Iran" The Geographical Journal 140(3): pp. 418-431, p. 427
American archaeologists and historians of Persian art, Arthur Upham Pope and his wife Phyllis Ackerman are buried in a small mausoleum on the river bank. Richard N. Frye (an American scholar of Iranian and Central Asian Studies) has also requested to be buried there.
For centuries Isfahan city had been an oasis settlement, noted for its surrounding fertile lands and prosperity. Until the 1960s industrial demand for water was minimal, which enabled the scarce water resources to be utilized primarily for agriculture. With a growing population within the basin, and rising standards of living particularly within the city, the pressure on water resources steadily increased until the division of water Tomar was no longer feasible. The creation of large steel works and other new industries demanded water.
The Chadegan Reservoir dam project in 1972 was a major hydroelectric project to help with stabilizing water flow and generating electricity. The dam was initially named Shah Abbas Dam after Shah Abbas I, the most influential king of the Safavid dynasty, but it was changed to Zayandeh Dam after the Islamic revolution in 1979. Since 1972, the Chadegan Reservoir has helped prevent seasonal flooding of the Zayandeh River.
80% of the Zayandeh's extracted water is used for agriculture, 10% for human consumption (drinking and domestic needs of a population of 4.5 million), 7% for industry (like the Zobahan-e-Esfahan and Foolad Mobarekeh steel companies and Isfahan's petrochemical, refinery and power plants) and 3% for other uses. There have been a number of tunnel projects (Koohrang) to redirect water from the Karun River (Iran's largest river that also starts in the Zagros Mountains), to the Zayandeh. These have helped provide water for the growing population and new industries in both Isfahan province and Yazd province provinces.
While the drying-out of the lower reaches of the Zayandeh River has been attributed to drought, the main reasons are man-made. Poor planning and populist politics have led to years of mismanagement and overuse which resulted in seasonal dry-outs and ultimately caused the river to dry out completely before reaching Isfahan.
Converting 180,000 hectares of natural resource pastures into gardens upstream of the Zayandehroud River in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province and Faridan region.
Creating structural dams and reservoirs for the development of agriculture in the mirage of the watershed. Establishment of large industries such as Isfahan Iron Smelter, Isfahan Oil Refinery, Isfahan Petrochemical, Chemical Industries, Mobarakeh Steel Company, Sepahan Oil Company and many industries that use a lot of water, such as power plants, etc., on the banks of Zayandeh River.
The dryness of the river has caused hundreds of thousands of residents down the river to become unemployed and has led to their seasonal or complete migration to other provinces or the city of Isfahan. This has caused a lot of damage to the farmers, so that during these years the farmers of Isfahan have rioted and protested at different times.
A database for water share allocating had been proposed.
Bridges on Zayandeh River in City of Esfahan:
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