Legal Challenges of Private Sector Participation in Managed Aquifer Recharge (Rainwater Runoff) in Iran

Articles in Press

Document Type : Analytical note

Authors

Sajjad Moghadas

seyed mohsen ghaemi khargh

Human Rights and Environmental Law in faculty law of Shahid beheshti university of tehran iran

10.22067/jwsd.2026.98509.1517

Abstract

Given the highly stressed water conditions in the country and the decline in groundwater levels alongside increasing abstraction in plains many of which have reached critical and supercritical status the need to reassess pathways for aquifer restoration and balance has intensified. Managed aquifer recharge is among the strategies under consideration, and the use of rainwater runoff for aquifer recharge, particularly in areas with favorable precipitation distribution, has attracted attention. From a legal perspective, when rainwater runoff is collected and harnessed and subsequently transferred to an aquifer through technological means, a central question arises regarding the status of ownership and the right of use of such water. This is because, upon transfer to the aquifer, the water immediately becomes part of the commons and public wealth, and the change of container effectively produces a change of ownership. Within this context, the legal challenge of assessing the feasibility of private sector participation in injecting rainwater runoff into aquifers becomes prominent: can the private sector claim a definitive right of use or a specified share corresponding to the volume transferred to the aquifer, or is the only permissible route reaching an arrangement with the Ministry of Energy or receiving payment from the government for undertaking the process? It should be noted that legislative efforts have also been made in this regard. At the same time, under the Seventh Development Plan, cabinet approvals, and restoration initiatives, the government is obliged to adopt the increase of aquifer levels as a strategic priority

Keywords

Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR)

Public Ownership of Water Resources

Rainwater Appropriation (Occupancy)

Water Use Rights

Private Sector Participation

Subjects

• Water Management and Economy

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