Shafaq News- Baghdad
After years described as the most severe drought in morethan 90 years, the Euphrates River has once again taken center stage in Iraqand Syria.
This time, however, it is not as a source of chronic waterscarcity, but as an unprecedented surge of water that swept across large partsof its basin in eastern Syria before beginning its journey south toward Iraqiterritory, triggering debate between warnings of potential risks and talk of arare water opportunity.
According to Ali Al-Hamad, Director of Public Relations atSyria’s Ministry of Local Administration and Environment, emergency teams faced“unprecedented challenges” along more than 200 kilometers of the river’scourse. Speaking to Shafaq News, Al-Hamad said that floodwaterssubmerged bridges and key pumping stations, forcing authorities to carry outurgent evacuations using local warning systems.
He confirmed that around 60 water stations had gone out ofservice in the Shamiyah and Jazira regions, while vital bridges in Deir ez-Zor,including the Al-Mayadeen and Al-Asharah bridges, sustained damage. River ferryoperations were also completely suspended at several locations.
In Iraq, Turhan Al-Mufti, adviser to the Iraqi primeminister on water affairs, told Shafaq News that the country possesses“irrigation systems capable of absorbing any volumes arriving through theEuphrates without causing floods.”
Al-Mufti explained that Haditha Lake has significant unusedstorage capacity, while Habbaniyah and Razaza lakes provide additional storagereserves. Excess water can also be diverted to the Tharthar Depression, and ifthose systems reach capacity, water can be directed to the marshlands.
“This year is a wet year, not a flood year,” Al-Mufti said,stressing that Iraq can absorb “any quantity, regardless of size,” with surpluswater potentially directed toward the marshes to support the ecosystem.
At the same time, Al-Mufti emphasized that Iraq stillrequires careful water management, noting that climate change necessitates “awell-considered use” of resources despite improved water conditions comparedwith last year.
Iraq is considered among the five countries most affected byclimate change, according to reports by the United Nations and internationalorganizations.
International reports warn that Iraq will need more than$233 billion by 2040 to improve its water and environmental infrastructure, equivalentto about 6% of its annual GDP, while the country has lost approximately 30% ofits agricultural land over the past three decades due to climate change.
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Iraqi water expert Tahseen Al-Moussawi said that waterreleases arriving from Syria “have not exceeded 2,000 cubic meters per second,”adding that the flooding in Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa was also linked to“encroachments and fragile infrastructure left behind by the war.”
In an interview with Shafaq News, Al-Moussawi said the waterwave would enter Iraq through Al-Qaim and is expected to reach Haditha Damwithin four days. He described the dam as Iraq’s “first line of defense,”noting that it has a storage capacity exceeding 10 billion cubic meters, whileits current storage does not exceed 2 billion cubic meters.
Al-Moussawi added that Iraq possesses an interconnectedstorage network including Habbaniyah, Razaza, Tharthar, and the marshlands,capable of accommodating “billions of cubic meters.” However, he warned thatwater management still suffers from “significant waste and chronic poorplanning.”
According to Al-Moussawi, “Based on estimates by waterexperts, Iraq needs 20 billion cubic meters of water, and it is expected thataround 17 billion cubic meters will arrive from Syria in the coming days.” He also questioned the speed at which Turkish reservoirshave filled, saying it “raises questions about Iraq’s management of thenegotiation file,” and called for the reactivation of agreements that determineIraq’s share of Euphrates water.
For his part, Bayez Al-Zarari, a member of the IraqiParliament’s Agriculture, Water and Marshlands Committee, said Iraq is dealingwith the incoming wave “scientifically and carefully,” stressing that HadithaDam is prepared to receive the flows without risk.
Al-Zarari explained that the committee had taken measuresincluding postponing agricultural water allocations until mid-June in order toincrease strategic reserves, noting that the current priority is “storing waterrather than releasing it.” He added that the committee relies on satellite data andinternational monitoring systems to track water movement, describing managementof the current wave as an opportunity to enhance water security if utilizedproperly.
In press statements on Saturday, Iraq’s Ministry of WaterResources confirmed that the country “has the full technical capacity to absorbany increase in releases,” noting that the situation remains under continuousmonitoring and that current indicators “do not call for concern.”
By contrast, previous ministry data showed that Iraq hadbeen experiencing one of its worst droughts since 1933, with water inflowsdropping to only 27% of previous levels and water reserves declining to around8% of storage capacity. Climate data indicate that temperatures in northeasternSyria have risen by around one degree Celsius, while average rainfall hasdeclined by approximately 18 millimeters per month over recent decades. Thesechanges have contributed to reductions in Euphrates and Tigris flows to nearlyhalf their natural levels during drought years.
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