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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - More than 50 water stations in Syria have been flooded after water levels in the Euphrates River sharply rose following Turkey’s opening of the spillways of its massive Ataturk Dam.
“About 50 water stations out of 210 stations have gone out of service as a result of being flooded by the Euphrates River,” Syrian state media reported, as large quantities of water continued flowing downstream into Syria and Iraq.
The flooding comes after Turkey announced it had opened the gates of the Ataturk Dam on the Euphrates River for the first time in seven years following heavy rainfall during the winter and spring seasons, which reportedly brought the reservoir “close to full capacity.”
Syrian state media also reported that rising water levels in the Euphrates River “led to the complete flooding” of earthen bridges and a number of agricultural lands in the countryside of Deir ez-Zor province.
In Iraq, authorities in the western Anbar province on Tuesday declared a three-day state of alert over the risk of flooding from Syria, according to the provincial council. The warning came after Syrian authorities cautioned of an anticipated rise in water levels at the Euphrates Dam in Raqqa province, near the Iraqi border.
Iraq, a downstream country on the Euphrates River, has long struggled with water shortages due to reduced inflows from upstream dam projects in Turkey and Syria. Tensions over water resources nearly escalated into conflict between Iraq and Syria in 1974 during earlier periods of reduced river flow.
This year, however, unusually heavy rainfall has led to overflowing reservoirs and dams across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. Kurdish authorities said last week that nearly all 25 dams and 180 artificial ponds in the Kurdistan Region had reached or exceeded full storage capacity, collectively holding more than 9 billion cubic meters of water.
Turkey’s state media reported Saturday that heavy rainfall had caused flooding in several parts of the country, damaging homes, businesses, and agricultural lands, while authorities opened dams, causing the Euphrates River to rise.”
Iraq relies heavily on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, both originating in Turkey. Turkish dam projects, particularly the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), have significantly reduced water flow into Iraq over recent decades.
Under previous water-sharing agreements, Turkey pledged to release up to 500 cubic meters of water per second downstream. Iraqi officials, however, have repeatedly accused Ankara of failing to consistently meet those commitments, often amid broader political and financial disputes between the two countries.