Sewage channel leakage has inflicted an irreparable damage on Iran’s unique aquatic museum and wonderful waterfalls in Shushtar, southwest of the country.

The museum houses Iran’s natural aqueducts dating back from the Islamic era in the 6th and 7th centuries, but now it is threatened by sewage leakage.

In ancient times Shushtar was famous for its dams and irrigation systems. Three of the dams date back to Sassanid times (3rd to 7th century CE), of which the largest was 550 meters long. The dam system fell apart through the 19th century. But even today, several waterwheels help run flour mills and produce electricity.

It was at Shushtar that Shapour I, after his great victory (A.D. 260) over Valerian at Édhessa, set his captives to work building vast hydraulic works, including a large dam across the Karun River. 

The historical Shushtar waterfalls are among the few ancient water structures in Iran used since the time of the Achaemenid for irrigating the Shushtar plain.