Khuzestan, the most industrialized province of Iran, is a hub of heavy industry, including petroleum, petrochemical factories, and gas and sugar refineries. Not only do they rely heavily on the water, but due to a lack of infrastructure, they also release their wastewater directly into the river. As of 2006, more than 315 million cubic meters of effluent industrial sewage was entering the Karun River annually.Ahvaz, Iran.2016