Shafaq News– Al-Muthanna
Al-Muthanna province in southern Iraq is receiving less than 1%of its allocated water from the Euphrates River system, a local official saidon Sunday.
Mohammad Talib, head of the province’s water authority, toldShafaq News that releases regulated through Saddat Al-Hindiya are divided undera long-standing formula that allocates 45% to Al-Diwaniyah, 45% to Babil and10% to Al-Muthanna. He said the system, based on historic agricultural land, nolonger reflects current needs and should be recalculated according topopulation.
A roughly 10-km stretch in the province’s north now receives nowater, while the Al-Muthanna section of Shatt Al-Hilla, a Euphrates branch, hasdried up entirely, he added. The province is now relying on supplementary flowsfrom the main Euphrates channel, which he described as insufficient andincreasingly saline.
The Ministry of Water Resources did not comment on the remarks,though it earlier reported that inflows to the Tigris-Euphrates basin in 2025fell to about 27% of the previous year’s levels, while active storage in majorreservoirs dropped to the lowest levels in decades.
Meanwhile, in Iraqi Kurdistan, farmers told Shafaq News thatheavier rainfall this season has improved water availability in parts of Duhokprovince that depend largely on rain-fed agriculture, enabling wider plantingof wheat and barley after drought reduced cultivation last year.
Rainfall exceeding 300 millimeters is generally consideredsufficient for a viable rain-fed harvest, they added. Despite the improvedconditions, the farmers cited persistent challenges, including high fuel costs,weak marketing channels, and a lack of processing facilities, which continue toweigh on production margins.
: Iraq’s water crisis deepens: Reserves collapse, mismanagement continues
