We tend to forget that the 1950s and 1960s were a period of large-scale engineering: intensification of agriculture, massive construction of dams, roads, mines etc., where nature and environmental footprint was at best an afterthought. In the US, in the Soviet Union, and also in (the Shah's) Iran.

Current environmental movement is downstream from that period - a reaction to abuses that happened. At least where the political situation tolerated its emergence.

Note that the Aral Sea, which lies geographically nearby, dried up for nearly the same reasons - too much water consumed - even though the Soviet Union was not in a position where they "couldn't have done much different"; they had plenty of productive soil elsewhere, being literally the largest country in the world and having been blessed with a lot of chernozem.

The underlying factor was the technocratic Zeitgeist which commanded people to "move fast and break (old fashioned) things". Such as qanats in Iran or old field systems in Central Europe.

Sanctions in the 1950s?

Afforestation, green houses, swales, center pivot irrigation and no till agriculture are highly effective methods that conserve water or let it accumulate in the local area.

Dams are highly ineffective when the goal is water conservation. Censorship and punishment are also highly ineffective methods for water conservation.