Water distribution stations are drying up and prices have more than doubled.
“This neighborhood has not received water for 20 days. Go and knock on the doors of all these houses and ask them about how many days they have not received water,” resident Kamaran Rustam told Rudaw.
Tankers are bringing in water for sale at elevated prices, but the quality is poor, according to Rustam.
“The water from some of them is not even drinkable because it is salty, spoils dishes, or if you use it for taking a shower it makes your hair hard,” he said.
Residents of some neighbourhoods have staged protests, but without results.
“Look, we are out of water. We went [to local officials] yesterday and another day. They keep saying ‘okay,’ but nothing is done. We come back home and see no water. We do not sleep at night time, waiting for water in vain,” resident Chalak Fazil told Rudaw.
The Kirkuk water directorate does not know when water crisis will be resolved.
“There are electricity cuts, especially at water resources stations which are responsible for providing drinking water for our projects. This has resulted in a lack of water in most of Kirkuk’s neighborhoods. We can say that there are blocks that do not receive water at all,” Jihan Ibrahim, deputy head of the directorate, told Rudaw.
The directorate had dedicated more than 35 tankers to provide water, but does not know when the crisis will be resolved.
Iraq is suffering water and electricity shortages across the country.
