ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Kurdish authorities are confident the Region’s water supply can weather decreased flows in trans-boundary rivers with Iran, but warn falling levels in the Tigris River will have significant negative impact on Iraq.
Only 40 percent of the catchment area for Dukan is located in Iran, Hama Tahir Jalal, director of Dukan dam, told Rudaw.
The rest comes from seasonal precipitation in the mountains.
"If there is rain for us in winter, we can collect enough for our needs,” he said.
Dukan and Darbandikhan dams are Kurdistan Region’s largest reservoirs. Both are fed by rivers shared with Iran.
Darbandikhan is fed by the Sirwan River. It is operating at reduced capacity after it was damaged in an earthquake last November.
The Little Zab flows in Dukan. Fears for Kurdistan’s water supply were sparked when Iran restricted flow of the Little Zab earlier this month.
Dukan’s water level had already been decreasing by 1 cm per day because greater volumes are standardly released in summer.
With the decreased inflow from the Little Zab, water levels in Dukan are now dropping 4 cm daily.
Jalal is worried that Iran is restricting water flows during the dry summer season, instead of in the rainy season as is standard practice.
"This is a dangerous phenomenon for us, but because we have done our own collecting, we aren’t worried about drinking water,” he said.
Jalal lamented that infrastructure has not been built to take more advantage of the many rivers that flow through Kurdistan, specifically the Bekhma dam on the Greater Zab River.
Bekhma dam was considered a strategic project for Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. It was to have been built on the Greater Zab in the Barzan area. Plans were prepared during the Baath regime. Following the creation of the no-fly-zone and the withdrawal of Saddam’s forces, however, the dam was looted and construction was never completed.
While he is confident that Kurdistan Region’s water supply is not at risk from Iran’s activities, Jalal said Iraq faces a threat from Turkey’s Ilisu dam on the Tigris River.
Turkey temporarily stopped filling its massive Ilisu dam after complaints from Iraq where water levels of the Tigris were dramatically low. Video of people walking across the river went viral on social media as the water barely passed their knees.
Baghdad and Ankara reached a quick agreement that saw Turkey temporarily halt filling the dam and when they resume in July, Turkey will allow sufficient water to flow into Iraq.
The Tigris River is not a major water resource for Kurdistan, but some in Duhok do rely on the river above the Mosul dam.
"It generally has greatly impacted drinking water. For example, our water project for Duhok is mainly dependent on the Tigris River. Our water comes from there. If water decreases, it undoubtedly will impact water, to an extent,” Vager Ahmed, an official in Duhok’s water department, told Rudaw.
But, he qualified, “It won't get to the stage where there’s no water left.”
Farmer Rashid Abdullah is worried though. He says he can’t farm the majority of his land because of water shortages.
"When water decreases, what should a farmer do? He will have losses. It is an extra burden,” Abdullah told Rudaw.
Only 40 percent of the catchment area for Dukan is located in Iran, Hama Tahir Jalal, director of Dukan dam, told Rudaw.
The rest comes from seasonal precipitation in the mountains.
"If there is rain for us in winter, we can collect enough for our needs,” he said.
Dukan and Darbandikhan dams are Kurdistan Region’s largest reservoirs. Both are fed by rivers shared with Iran.
Darbandikhan is fed by the Sirwan River. It is operating at reduced capacity after it was damaged in an earthquake last November.
The Little Zab flows in Dukan. Fears for Kurdistan’s water supply were sparked when Iran restricted flow of the Little Zab earlier this month.
Dukan’s water level had already been decreasing by 1 cm per day because greater volumes are standardly released in summer.
With the decreased inflow from the Little Zab, water levels in Dukan are now dropping 4 cm daily.
Jalal is worried that Iran is restricting water flows during the dry summer season, instead of in the rainy season as is standard practice.
"This is a dangerous phenomenon for us, but because we have done our own collecting, we aren’t worried about drinking water,” he said.
Jalal lamented that infrastructure has not been built to take more advantage of the many rivers that flow through Kurdistan, specifically the Bekhma dam on the Greater Zab River.
Bekhma dam was considered a strategic project for Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. It was to have been built on the Greater Zab in the Barzan area. Plans were prepared during the Baath regime. Following the creation of the no-fly-zone and the withdrawal of Saddam’s forces, however, the dam was looted and construction was never completed.
While he is confident that Kurdistan Region’s water supply is not at risk from Iran’s activities, Jalal said Iraq faces a threat from Turkey’s Ilisu dam on the Tigris River.
Turkey temporarily stopped filling its massive Ilisu dam after complaints from Iraq where water levels of the Tigris were dramatically low. Video of people walking across the river went viral on social media as the water barely passed their knees.
Baghdad and Ankara reached a quick agreement that saw Turkey temporarily halt filling the dam and when they resume in July, Turkey will allow sufficient water to flow into Iraq.
The Tigris River is not a major water resource for Kurdistan, but some in Duhok do rely on the river above the Mosul dam.
"It generally has greatly impacted drinking water. For example, our water project for Duhok is mainly dependent on the Tigris River. Our water comes from there. If water decreases, it undoubtedly will impact water, to an extent,” Vager Ahmed, an official in Duhok’s water department, told Rudaw.
But, he qualified, “It won't get to the stage where there’s no water left.”
Farmer Rashid Abdullah is worried though. He says he can’t farm the majority of his land because of water shortages.
"When water decreases, what should a farmer do? He will have losses. It is an extra burden,” Abdullah told Rudaw.
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