Shafaq News- Kirkuk
Oil slicks spreading across the main irrigation canal inKirkuk’s Al-Sada Al-Mashayekh village have raised fears of a wideningenvironmental threat, with residents reporting visible damage to crops andgrowing risks to livestock.
Resident Ahmed Mahmoud told Shafaq News that the pollutioncaused strong petroleum odors around the canal, expressing concerns thatcontamination could spread to soil and groundwater. “The village depends almostentirely on this canal for daily agricultural activities,” he said.
According to Farmer Hassan Khalil, several livestock ownersnoticed animals refusing to drink from the canal because of changes in thewater’s color and smell. “Continued contamination could cause significanteconomic losses for residents, particularly with the agricultural productionseason approaching.”
He added that the village had experienced similar incidentsin previous years, but past responses were temporary and failed to fullyresolve the problem.
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Residents also urged the Environment Directorate, North OilCompany, and municipal authorities to contain the pollution, clean the canal,and conduct soil and water tests, noting that failure to address the leak couldcause long-term environmental and health damage.
Iraq ranked as the world’s second most polluted country bythe end of 2025, while more than five million cubic meters of untreatedwastewater flowed daily into its rivers. Air pollution, unsafe water, andunmanaged waste have increasingly affected public health, agriculture, andinfrastructure, with Iraq producing an estimated 23 million tons of municipalwaste annually and polluted water damaging up to 90% of the country’swaterways.
: The cost of filth: Iraq among the world’s most polluted nations