‘Catastrophe’: Record low water level at Darbandikhan dam

25-09-2021
Hunar Hamid
Filmed on September 24, 2021.
Filmed on September 24, 2021.
A+ A-
DARBANDIKHAN, Kurdistan Region - The water level at Darbandikhan dam is the lowest ever seen in the dam’s 65-year history. The shortage is caused by dams in Iran and a lack of rainfall and it is having a devastating effect on farmers and the tourism industry.

“The decrease in water will be a severe catastrophe if the drought continues next year,” said Rahman Khani, director of the dam. 

Farhan Hussein, 52, has been growing rice in Darbandikhan for 35 years and this is the driest year he has ever seen. He can only sow his rice field every other year in order to share the dwindling resource. 

“There are around 80 farmers in Banki Khelan village. Those 80 farmers have been divided into two groups due to a lack of rain and drought. Each group plants rice every second year because of water shortages,” he said. 

Downstream in Zhallanaw, Yasa Ahmed owns a resort that provides a living for 10 families, but the drop in the water level is shrinking his business. It “means people don’t visit here,” he explained. 

A Kurdish official earlier this year declared a “water crisis”. Across Iraq and Syria, more than 12 million people are losing access to water and wheat production has plummeted.

Iraq is one of the most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change. 


Translation and video editing by Sarkawt Mohammed
 

Comments

Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.

To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.

We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.

Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.

Post a comment

Required
Required
 

The Latest

Erbil International Airport on August 20, 2020. Photo: Bilind T. Abdullah/Rudaw

Kurdistan Region-Iran flights to resume Friday: Source

Flights between airports in the Kurdistan Region and Tehran are set to resume on Friday, a source told Rudaw. Flights were halted on Tuesday when Iran launched missiles at Israel and regional countries closed their airspace.