ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources announced on Thursday that the country holds strong water reserves in its major dams and has successfully supplied hundreds of millions of cubic meters to revive its marshlands following the heavy rain season, replenishing reserves after years of drought.
"Currently, 619 cubic meters of water per second reach the Mosul Dam from the Tigris River. In return, we release 700 cubic meters of water per second from the dam to meet agricultural, drinking, and domestic needs," Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources spokesperson Khalid Shimal told Rudaw’s Malik Mohammed.
"We have good water reserves in the dams and are managing them meticulously so that we can get through this hot season seamlessly and prepare for the winter planting season," Shimal affirmed.
Since late last year, Iraq and the Kurdistan Region have experienced torrential rainfall, leading to flash floods and an overflow of rivers and dams, particularly in the northern Mosul, Sulaimani and Kirkuk provinces.
Officials reported that the stored reserves could provide much-needed relief after years of acute shortages.
The ministry's spokesperson noted a total of 630 million cubic meters supplied to wetlands at the end of June, and “over 85 million cubic meters of water were released,” in Maysan province alone, “which has helped preserve their water levels and led to a 40 percent revival."
“The inflow of water from the Euphrates River into the Haditha Dam is recorded at 428 cubic meters per second, while the volume of water released downstream from that dam has reached 500 cubic meters per second," Shimal said, regarding Iraq’s second-largest hydroelectric power station.
Iraq established several frameworks involving "a high level of coordination with the relevant water management authorities in Turkey and Syria,” Shimal said.
A two-year water agreement between Baghdad and Ankara entered the implementation phase in early August.
In late June, the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources and the Syrian Ministry of Energy signed a protocol regarding cooperation in the management of shared water resources and information exchange.
According to the protocol, both sides will exchange technical information, particularly concerning the Euphrates River.
“We have signed a cooperation protocol with Syria to exchange information, and we hope this will lay the foundation for establishing a clear working framework for coordination with the Turkish side, as all three countries share the Euphrates River basin,” the spokesperson noted.
