ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Major water supply projects are now complete, resolving emergency water shortages in Erbil with daily production reaching 840,000 cubic meters, nearly double the city's estimated demand, the director of Erbil Water Directorate said on Tuesday.
“The entire Erbil water rescue project has been finalized,” Director of the Erbil Water Directorate Rabar Hussein told Rudaw's Soran Hussein on Tuesday noting the completion of all of the phases of the city’s emergency water supply project.
The project significantly increases the city's access to clean water, said Hussein, delivering “35,000 cubic meters of clean water per hour.”
For years, Erbil has experienced recurring water shortages during the summer months, forcing many residents to rely on groundwater wells in addition to the city’s water treatment facilities.
In 2022, the Kurdistan Region's Ministry of Municipalities and Tourism issued a warning that groundwater levels had dropped by around 500 meters over two decades and that hundreds of wells had dried up. At the time, officials were drilling new wells to ease shortages.
Following the completion of the rapid water supply project, more than 1,000 wells have been decommissioned and are no longer in use.
Officials say the newly completed projects have substantially increased supply capacity and ended the chronic shortages that previously affected residents.
According to Hussein, Erbil currently produces around 840,000 cubic meters of water per day “while 500,000 cubic meters is enough to sustain Erbil’s water demand based on the population.”
Despite the surplus in water production, Hussein urged residents to use water responsibly to ensure equal distribution across the city and prevent localized shortages.
Although water shortages are more pronounced in the summer season, Hussein stated that no significant problems have been recorded so far this year, ensuring that “Unless a technical problem occurs, water is available, and residents will not face shortages during the rest of the summer.”
Erbil’s water supply project stems from an initiative by Kurdistan Region PM Masrour Barzani in September 2024 to improve water services in the capital.
Stating that Erbil residents had “endured water shortages for far too long,” Barzani pledged nearly $500 million in private investment to build the infrastructure needed “to meet the capital’s water needs for the next 30 years.”
