Lar Dam
Lar Dam is an earth-fill dam with a clay core. Dimensions are 105 m above the riverbed and 1,150 m crest length. Its principal function is Tehran municipal water supply, with hydropower as a secondary purpose. Supplementary functions include agricultural water supply and flood control.
Strategic and market-access role
Lar Dam is a high-relevance water asset in the Hormuz Graph because it sits in the Alborz highlands between Tehran’s demand pressure and northern watershed systems. Its role connects mountain water storage, urban-services resilience, environmental sensitivity, and long-distance water management affecting the capital-region economy. The asset is analytically important because it shows how Tehran’s water security depends partly on infrastructure outside the city itself, linking Mazandaran-side geography, protected upland ecosystems, public utilities, and urban consumption risk in one system. The asset supports water delivery to Tehran, approximately 70–75 km to the southwest, through its generation and transfer system.
Operations, capacity & connectivity
Related use cases
Useful for water-security analysis, urban-services risk assessment, public-infrastructure monitoring, environmental-risk screening, and evaluation of water-sensitive real estate or industrial exposure around Tehran and northern corridors. Analysts can use it to understand how upstream reservoir conditions shape municipal supply, drought resilience, and public-project demand. Practical work should verify current allocation, hydrological conditions, environmental limits, and utility-management arrangements.
Capacity and service area
Capacity: Reservoir total capacity: 960 million m³; usable capacity: 860 million m³. Installed hydropower capacity: 162.5 MW. Service area: Tehran municipal water system. After generation, water is reported to be transferred partly to Latian Dam and partly to the Sohanak water treatment plant in Tehran.
Connected modes
A reported 20 km water-transfer tunnel links Lar Dam to the Kalan Power Station.
Industries served
Water utilities; hydropower; agriculture.
Ownership, operation & expansion
Owner and operator
Owner: Tehran Regional Water Company Operator: Tehran Regional Water Company
Opening or commissioning
Construction began in 1974 and was completed in 1982.
Constraints, risk & compliance
Operational constraints
The dam is situated within the protected Lar National Park at the foot of Mount Damavand. No current operating constraints or project pipeline were verified in the evidence pack.
Connected Intelligence
Relevant geography, industry, market and execution context for this profile.
Frequently asked questions
Direct answers to the questions most likely to arise when reviewing this profile.
What is Lar Dam primarily used for?
Its primary stated purpose is municipal water supply for Tehran. It also supports hydropower generation, with reported agricultural water-supply and flood-control functions.
Who owns and operates Lar Dam?
Tehran Regional Water Company is reported as both owner and operator.
What is the storage capacity of Lar Dam?
Reported total reservoir capacity is 960 million m³, including 860 million m³ of usable capacity.
How is Lar Dam connected to Tehran’s water system?
A reported 20 km tunnel transfers water to the Kalan Power Station; after generation, water is reported to move partly to Latian Dam and partly to Tehran’s Sohanak water treatment plant.