Rojava cuts power, blames Turkey for holding back water
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria (Rojava) warned Thursday that they will have to reduce power generation because of low water levels in the Euphrates River, limiting the electricity produced at two hydropower stations. They blamed Turkey for the situation, accusing it of cutting the water supply.
“Over the past six months, the Turkish state has deliberately cut the water of the Euphrates River almost completely, and this has led to the levels of Tishreen and Tabqa dams falling to the lowest level,” Rojava’s Energy and Communications Office said on Thursday.
Water levels are down by five metres “and this forced us to reduce the number of turbines operating in the dams,” the office added. “Therefore, we are sorry to inform you that only one turbine will operate for a period of 8 hours from 16:00 in the afternoon until 24:00 at night.”
The electricity will be distributed throughout northeast Syria to run “service lines such as water and mills.”
The Swedia power plant will be relied on to make up the shortfall.
Supplies of drinking water could also be affected, according to the energy office.
Mohammed Tarboush, an official from Rojava’s dams administration, has warned they are facing a “real disaster” with respect to drinking water, “because the low level of the river has led to water pollution, the flow of algae and shells that lead to the emergence of dangerous diseases such as cholera that usually appear in the summer that we are heading to, and most of the major cities in northeastern Syria rely on the water of the Euphrates River to secure drinking water."
Rojava has frequently accused Turkey of weaponizing water.
Turkey and Syria signed an agreement in 1987 that stipulates Turkey should release from its dams 500 cubic meters of water per second down the Euphrates and across the border. In dams on the Syrian stretch of the river, Kurdish authorities say that Ankara has manipulated the water flow since they took charge when they established the autonomous administration of Rojava.
Hawar News Agency (ANHA), affiliated with Kurdish authorities in Rojava, on Thursday published footage of the Euphrates River showing dramatic decreases in the water level.
When Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies seized control of a stretch of Rojava territory along the border with Turkey in October 2019, including the Alouk water station, it cut the drinking water supply for a million people.
The two sides agreed that Turkey would keep the water flowing if Rojava supplied electricity, but the water has been disrupted at least 23 times, according to the United Nations, most recently going out of service on April 12, reportedly due to a fire at the electricity substation serving Alouk, and coming back online on April 24.
A Russian delegation visited water station on Wednesday to negotiate an agreement, but failed to reach a deal, according to local monitoring group Rojava Information Center.
Syria’s foreign ministry on April 25 called on the international community to “pressure Turkish invading authorities to stop these criminal practices against innocent Syrians in Hasaka governorate.”
Damascus’ envoy to the United Nations, Bassam Sabbagh, told the Security Council on Wednesday that Turkey is causing more than a million people to suffer from thirst.
The water and electricity shortages comes as Rojava is struggling to cope with a wave of coronavirus infections as it runs out of testing equipment and medical supplies.
“Over the past six months, the Turkish state has deliberately cut the water of the Euphrates River almost completely, and this has led to the levels of Tishreen and Tabqa dams falling to the lowest level,” Rojava’s Energy and Communications Office said on Thursday.
Water levels are down by five metres “and this forced us to reduce the number of turbines operating in the dams,” the office added. “Therefore, we are sorry to inform you that only one turbine will operate for a period of 8 hours from 16:00 in the afternoon until 24:00 at night.”
The electricity will be distributed throughout northeast Syria to run “service lines such as water and mills.”
The Swedia power plant will be relied on to make up the shortfall.
Supplies of drinking water could also be affected, according to the energy office.
Mohammed Tarboush, an official from Rojava’s dams administration, has warned they are facing a “real disaster” with respect to drinking water, “because the low level of the river has led to water pollution, the flow of algae and shells that lead to the emergence of dangerous diseases such as cholera that usually appear in the summer that we are heading to, and most of the major cities in northeastern Syria rely on the water of the Euphrates River to secure drinking water."
Rojava has frequently accused Turkey of weaponizing water.
Turkey and Syria signed an agreement in 1987 that stipulates Turkey should release from its dams 500 cubic meters of water per second down the Euphrates and across the border. In dams on the Syrian stretch of the river, Kurdish authorities say that Ankara has manipulated the water flow since they took charge when they established the autonomous administration of Rojava.
Hawar News Agency (ANHA), affiliated with Kurdish authorities in Rojava, on Thursday published footage of the Euphrates River showing dramatic decreases in the water level.
When Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies seized control of a stretch of Rojava territory along the border with Turkey in October 2019, including the Alouk water station, it cut the drinking water supply for a million people.
The two sides agreed that Turkey would keep the water flowing if Rojava supplied electricity, but the water has been disrupted at least 23 times, according to the United Nations, most recently going out of service on April 12, reportedly due to a fire at the electricity substation serving Alouk, and coming back online on April 24.
A Russian delegation visited water station on Wednesday to negotiate an agreement, but failed to reach a deal, according to local monitoring group Rojava Information Center.
Syria’s foreign ministry on April 25 called on the international community to “pressure Turkish invading authorities to stop these criminal practices against innocent Syrians in Hasaka governorate.”
Damascus’ envoy to the United Nations, Bassam Sabbagh, told the Security Council on Wednesday that Turkey is causing more than a million people to suffer from thirst.
The water and electricity shortages comes as Rojava is struggling to cope with a wave of coronavirus infections as it runs out of testing equipment and medical supplies.