More than eight billion dinars to address the water crisis in Erbil, Governor says

Shafaq News/ The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) contributed to securing eight billion dinars to mitigate the impact of drought on Erbil, Governor of Kurdistan's capital city, Omed Khoshnaw, said on Saturday.

In a press conference he held earlier today, Khoshnaw said, "133 wells have been deepened, and 76 alternative wells have been drilled, with 25 others in progress."

"133 water projects have been established," he added, "more than eight billion dinars have been allocated to address the water crisis in Erbil. Some of the funding came from KRG. Philanthropists, whose names will be announced later, contributed as well."

"All of those projects were executed at short notice. In fact, we laid the plans for strategic plans to put an end to the drought crisis...One of those projects is Komeh Aspen. KRG approved building to other dams as well," he said.

After Garmyan, Erbil incurred the most damage from the drought this year, Khoshnaw said in late June.

In July, he called for rationalizing the water consumption in the governorate after more than 200 wells dried up.

It is noteworthy that Erbil relies by 35% on rivers and springs and 65% on underground waters.