ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The water levels of Jundian’s waterfall in southern Erbil has been experiencing an alarming decline since the start of the year, with locals attributing the reasoning for the phenomenon to the lack of rain in the previous seasons.
The artificial waterfall, derived from the streams of Choman river, is one of the main tourist attraction spots in the resort. During the spring, it provides a sense of peace and serenity to the onlookers visiting the area from across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
The cave below the stream, which would often be filled with water during springtime, now is on the brink of drought, with the water flowing through it no more than a couple of instances a week, locals say.
“The water levels were low this year, as there was not much rain and snow” Gonar Soran, a Jundian local told Rudaw’s Bakhtiyar Qadir on Tuesday.
Apart from the waterfall, another reason for the decline of water levels is suggested to be the flow of other resources into the underground water below the cave, which leads the water to flow onto the surface.
Officials have warned that the Kurdistan Region is in the midst of a water crisis due to a lack of rain, government funds, and issues of water mismanagement both internally and across neighboring countries.
Iraq is the fifth-most vulnerable nation in the world to the effects of climate change, the UN says, including water and food insecurity.
