Iraq's water crisis: finger pointed at stalled talks with neighboring countries

Shafaq News/ the Iraqi Parliamentary Agriculture, Water and Marshlands Committee announced that the water reserve has exceeded the threshold of 20 billion cubic meters, which heralds a good summer season.

The committee drew attention to the fact that these quantities are limited, which calls for rationalizing water usage.

Experts warned that the current water reserve is very "small," as estimates indicate that Iraq needs between 48 and 50 billion cubic meters to ensure a successful agricultural operation, revive the marshes, and meet the growing consumption needs in light of the increasing population.

In addition, experts indicated that the marshes are facing three difficult months of massive water evaporation, which could lead to a significant loss of areas flooded with water.

However, the Green Iraq Observatory had explained in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency that, during the winter and spring, the marshes witnessed great prosperity in terms of water abundance as a result of the rains and torrents that came from the eastern Iranian side, especially the Maysan marshes which were filled excellently, leading to a satisfactory rise in the water level.

The observatory had expected that the amounts of water in the marshes would be sufficient during the current summer.

"Iraq is ranked 23rd globally in terms of water stress (i.e. consumption is more than revenues), at a time when Iraq has not been able to reach an agreement with the water sharing countries regarding its water quotas yet," according to water expert Tahseen Al-Moussawi.

He further stated that "Iraq was expected to take advantage of the recent visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, especially since the trade balance represents strengths, the security aspect that Turkiye is looking for regarding Kurdistan Workers' Party issue, as well as the development question."

Water Situation With Turkiye And Iran Is "Frustrating"

Al-Moussawi told Shafaq News Agency, "But the water issue was appended to the list of dialogues, and the final statement was disappointing and did not achieve the launch of the 2019 agreement. Rather, the issue was represented by mere statements from the Iraqi Council of Ministers, with the two sides agreeing to form committees, and this is in the interest of the Turkish side. The same is true with the Iranian side, so there has been no improvement in the external file."

Al-Moussawi affirmed, "The solution did not come from the negotiation process with neighboring countries, even though Iraq went through four dry seasons, but it came from the sky, and this year's revenues were not as large as some might imagine. Indeed, the figures recorded by the Ministry of Water Resources do not exceed 21 billion cubic meters, and this is a small reserve because consumption and classical irrigation with an increase in human resources require 48 to 50 billion cubic meters. This is in the event that a complete agricultural process is desired and the marshes and other consumptions are revived, in addition to the high evaporation process."

He explained, "Iraq loses 5 to 8 billion cubic meters in the evaporation process due to high temperatures during the summer. Nature has also placed Iraq among the five countries most affected by climate extremes, and this is an additional burden on Iraq regarding the water issue."

International Solutions For Iraq's Marshes

Minister of Water Resources in Iraq, Aoun Diab, had stated to Shafaq News in 2023 that the water scarcity issue is as critical as the fight against ISIS, highlighting the government's approach to consolidating water-related matters within the framework of broader economic and trade concerns.

Regarding the situation of the marshes, the water expert said, "The water needs of the marshes - which have an area of about 20 thousand square kilometers - are 20 billion cubic meters to reach the ideal situation, but in the normal or average situations they need 7 to 8 billion cubic meters. This amount of water is also lost as a result of the high evaporation rate in the marshes."

He added, "Although the current situation in the marshes is better than the past four years, the current rate is insufficient, and the coming days will be harsher on the marshes in light of the rising temperatures, and this is due to the failure to reach water-sharing agreements with neighboring countries."

Al-Moussawi noted, "After the Iraqi marshes entered the World Heritage List as a global reserve, there is an international law that allows waterway countries to secure their water quotas. However, it is noted that the external file is always faltering, and we have not reached the level of negotiations that have led to results for the Turkish and Iranian sides. Rather, the matter was represented in mere talks, and the water issue did not take priority for the government. As for the government solutions, they are temporary, but the government sees them as strategic, which constitutes a threat to the future of Iraq."

The Marshes Face Three Deadly Months

"The water crisis still exists, and data from last year indicate that water was scarce until March 2024. The water shortage levels in Iraq's three main dams, Mosul, Haditha, Dokan, and Lake Tharthar, reached their lowest quantities historically, not exceeding 7 billion cubic meters, after reaching 65 billion cubic meters in 2019, which is the peak of water storage in Iraqi dams since 2003," according to the environmentalist Jassim Al-Asadi.

Al-Asadi further pointed out to Shafaq News, "Also, the Iraqi marshes are still facing severe and complex drought from 2021 until the end of February 2024 (i.e. lack of rain, high temperatures, and lack of sufficient water coming from outside the borders from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and the eastern Iranian side)."

He added, "But the recent rains provided limited storage in the Iraqi dams and Lake Tharthar, as the latter was previously equipped with 2,500 cubic meters per second from the Tigris, and it rose to the limits of dead storage in Lake Tharthar, but the situation is still harsh, especially in the Euphrates", noting that "the height of the Euphrates rose on April 15, 2024 to 1.60 meters, after it was 28 centimeters on December 12, 2023."

Deadly Evaporation And Daily Losses

Al-Asadi explained, "With every day, about half a centimeter is lost from the marshes level, as well as from the level of the Euphrates. As a result, we face three deadly months of massive evaporation of water in the marshes, and this means the loss of more lands submerged in the marshes, in addition to an economic loss."

Moreover, the environmentalist said, "The agreement that was concluded with Turkiye was ambiguous. It did not address a specific quantity of water in the Tigris, for example, but rather a fair quantity of water. However, the concept of justice is different between the two parties in all cases, so it cannot be relied upon and monitored. This confirms the need for a protocol similar to 1987 with the Turkish and Syrian sides on the Euphrates River, even if Turkiye has not fulfilled its obligations in this protocol on the Tigris River at a time when Iraqi water and agricultural policy is still not integrated."

Good But Limited Storage

For her part, Vice-Chairman of the Parliamentary Agriculture, Water and Marshlands Committee, Zozan Koger, said, "The strategic storage of water in dams, water tanks or lakes is good for this season, as the storage exceeded 20 billion cubic meters, and this was the result of good rainfall with the melting of snow and torrents, which were a good resource for water storage in Iraq."

"The water situation in general is good, because there has been a rise in water levels in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, but with the increased demand for water, especially in the summer, and the high temperatures, water quantities must be used in a limited manner, even though they are sufficient for the current summer season," confirmed Koger to Shafaq News.

In this context, she clarified that "There is a need to exploit all available capabilities to preserve water wealth from waste and use it optimally through awareness and the use of modern methods in irrigation and agriculture, as well as developing strategic plans by building dams to preserve rainwater, torrents, and floods," noting that "the Ministry of Water Resources assumed the task of distributing water fairly to all governorates and providing water to the marshes."

Koger pointed out that "the government effort to manage the water issue was serious about overcoming the obstacles facing this sector in terms of providing water and preserving water wealth, and there were allocations amounting to $300 million to purchase sprinklers in addition to water desalination projects."