Shafaq News- Diyala
Al-Azim Dam in Diyala province has reached full capacity—estimated at 1.6 billion cubic meters— following recent heavy rainfall andfloods, a local official told Shafaq News on Sunday.
Nabil Al-Obeidi, director of Al-Azim subdistrict, urgedauthorities to preserve the dam’s water reserves and reduce discharge levels tosecure supply during peak summer drought. He warned that continued releases,currently at 15 cubic meters per second into the Al-Azim River, could lead tounnecessary losses, especially as the area lacks a significant agriculturalplan beyond limited sprinkler irrigation.
Last September, the dam completely dried up, leaving only 9meters of polluted, unusable water.
Iraq has faced a worsening drought in recent years, drivenby climate change, declining rainfall, and reduced water flows from upstreamcountries, including Turkiye and Iran, cutting farmland, acceleratingdesertification, and undermining food security, particularly in rural areas. Atthe same time, water levels in dams and reservoirs have fallen below safethresholds, prompting the Ministry of Water Resources to prioritize suppliesfor drinking and limited horticulture amid the absence of a comprehensive summeragricultural plan.
: Iraq’s water crisis: A structural rewrite of agricultural governance