Erbil province hit hardest by water crisis: governor

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Erbil has been “hit the hardest” by a growing water crisis in the Kurdistan Region and the issue is expected to worsen in August, its governor said on Saturday.

“Unfortunately this year is a drought in the Kurdistan Region and Erbil has been hit the hardest,” said Omed Khoshnaw, explaining that the province of Erbil has been divided into three zones, the third zone which includes Erbil city, has suffered the most.

In Erbil, over a third of the water comes from surface-level sources, while nearly two-thirds come from underground reservoirs, where he said they have been the most affected. Khoshnaw noted that Erbil has more than 9,000 official wells, as well as 5,000 illegal ones. The depth for wells two and a half decades ago was around 120 meters, but has dropped to 500 meters in 2021, he explained.

Kurdistan Region and Iraq are regularly affected by water shortages, however, this year the situation has been particularly bad as there was less snowfall and rain than normal during the winter and spring, as well as the construction dams in neighboring countries

Water shortages in the Kurdistan Region are also attributed to poor water management and inadequate funding. A budget of 2.5 billion dinars ($1.7 million) was provided in June by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for drinking water.

According to Khoshnaw, "In Erbil alone, we may need three times the amount provided to the entire Kurdistan region to control the issue."

“There have always been water problems in Erbil Province in the summer, mostly from the middle of July to August, but this year it started in May... and August will be much worse [than usual].”

According to the governor, they have held meetings with representatives and administrative parties, saying that "our priority is providing drinking water." He urged citizens to cooperate and to refrain from using too much water.

"We didn't have water last May. I have bought water this year since we have not had water from May 2 through today,” Kaifi Mahmoud, a citizen in Erbil city, told Rudaw on Saturday. "I spend ten thousand [Iraqi dinars to buy water] every two days."

Residents in another neighborhood protested around midnight on Saturday, saying they can’t take showers as water has become expensive, while there is also an electricity shortage.

KRG officials warned in April that the Region was already in the midst of a water crisis.