A villager examines water at a well (IMAGE) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Caption Communities in vast areas of Iran are facing severe groundwater shortage. A villager examines water at a well in Patargan sub-basin, eastern Iran, where water flow has diminished due to physical limits to groundwater extraction. Credit Image credit: Mohsen Maghrebi. Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.