Shafaq News/ The Ministry of Water Resources has confirmed on Sunday that the saline concentration at Shat al-Arab in the Basra Governorate does not affect human usage, indicating that it has taken appropriate measures to avoid the spread of salt tides. 

The Ministry issued a statement in which it said that the ratio of saline concentration at Shat al-Arab is “better than that of the previous year and that the noticeable rise that occurred two days ago at the mouth of the Karun River at Shat al-Arab in the Seyhan Region is cause by the scarcity of fresh water flowing from the Karun River and saline drainage water being directed to Shat al-Arab.”

The Ministry indicated that it is releasing an average of 75 cubic meters per second at the border between the governorates of Basra and Maysan, as well as 80 cubic meters per second of fresh water in the district of Kalaat Saleh in Maysan to feed Shat al-Arab.

It stressed that these supplies are meant to stand in the way of rising salt tides in Shat al-Arab and clarified that saline concentration has dropped to 1900/million this year in the Medina District in Basra after it was 3100/million last year.

It added that the saline ratio in the Katiban River in Basra, which is considered the main source feeding the irrigation canal that carries water to al-Faw and Ras al-Bisha, has dropped to 1550/million in comparison to approximately 2000/million last year.

The Ministry has reassured the citizens of al-Basra that this summer will be a peaceful one in Shat al-Arab and that the agricultural areas and drinking water will not be affected by the saline ratio which is expected to drop even more in the future.