Garmiyan dams' water levels increase following rainfall
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Dams across the Garmiyan administration saw a huge increase in water levels following heavy rainfall, months after it had declared a drought year.
Bawashaswar Dam in Kifri, like Awaspi Dam, was filled by the first rainfall this year. The dam has a capacity of six million cubic meters of water.
In April, Garmiyan administration declared a drought year for the second consecutive time.
“After the wave of rainfall that hit Kifri on the 25th of November, more than 50 mm of rain fell and the water level rose significantly,” Aziz Karim, director of Bawshaswar Dam, told Rudaw’s Hunar Hamid last week.
Ahmad Wassen, director of Khanaqin’s Alwan Dam, told Rudaw that “so far, for 35 days, the volume of incoming water is about 30 million cubic meters.”
“The water collected in the dam is so large that we can release the necessary amount and they can use it for irrigation,” he added.
Three dam construction projects in the Garmiyan administration have stopped. If these dams are completed and filled with water during the rainy season, the Kurdistan Region will face less water shortages.
Iraq is the world's fifth-most vulnerable nation to the effects of climate change, including water and food insecurity, according to the UN, yet it is lagging behind its neighbors when it comes to a plan to protect its water resources.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has long warned that the water available in Iraq is set to decrease by around 20 percent by 2025, threatening the long-term stability of Iraq’s agriculture and industry.
The issue is exacerbated by the Turkish and Iranian damming of rivers that flow into Iraq, cutting off the increasingly dry nation from much-needed water relief. Ankara has built a mega-dam on the Tigris River.
Bawashaswar Dam in Kifri, like Awaspi Dam, was filled by the first rainfall this year. The dam has a capacity of six million cubic meters of water.
In April, Garmiyan administration declared a drought year for the second consecutive time.
“After the wave of rainfall that hit Kifri on the 25th of November, more than 50 mm of rain fell and the water level rose significantly,” Aziz Karim, director of Bawshaswar Dam, told Rudaw’s Hunar Hamid last week.
Ahmad Wassen, director of Khanaqin’s Alwan Dam, told Rudaw that “so far, for 35 days, the volume of incoming water is about 30 million cubic meters.”
“The water collected in the dam is so large that we can release the necessary amount and they can use it for irrigation,” he added.
Three dam construction projects in the Garmiyan administration have stopped. If these dams are completed and filled with water during the rainy season, the Kurdistan Region will face less water shortages.
Iraq is the world's fifth-most vulnerable nation to the effects of climate change, including water and food insecurity, according to the UN, yet it is lagging behind its neighbors when it comes to a plan to protect its water resources.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has long warned that the water available in Iraq is set to decrease by around 20 percent by 2025, threatening the long-term stability of Iraq’s agriculture and industry.
The issue is exacerbated by the Turkish and Iranian damming of rivers that flow into Iraq, cutting off the increasingly dry nation from much-needed water relief. Ankara has built a mega-dam on the Tigris River.