Shafaq News- Baghdad

A worsening contamination crisis along Baghdad's main waterway has forced authorities to ration water supplies in the Bismayah residential complex and surrounding southeastern districts, environmental expert Adel al-Mukhtar told Shafaq News on Sunday.

Al-Mukhtar said oil slicks deplete dissolved oxygen in the river, devastating aquatic life, particularly fish. Petroleum compounds accumulate in fish tissue over time through bioaccumulation, he warned, transferring contaminants up the food chain to human consumers.

Untreated sewage compounds the crisis, raising bacterial and chemical levels while triggering algae blooms and killing aquatic organisms. The discharge may carry heavy metals and pathogenic microbes, al-Mukhtar said, elevating health risks for anyone consuming fish caught in affected areas.

He called for regular water and fish testing, stricter environmental oversight, a ban on untreated waste disposal into the river, and an upgrade of treatment facilities to modern environmental standards, warning that ignoring the problem risks long-term consequences that will be difficult to reverse.

In Bismayah, one of Baghdad's largest residential complexes, authorities capped daily water pumping at six hours while the oil slick affecting the river feeding the city persists, the National Investment Commission's Bismayah office said, calling the measure temporary.

Meanwhile, Baghdad's Water Resources Directorate said it is working with municipal maintenance crews on dredging and clearing operations along the Diyala River — removing debris and sediment beneath the New Diyala Bridge and widening the river's cross-section to handle incoming water flows toward the capital.