ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s minister of water resources has warned of an impending water crisis because of low levels in the reservoir of Mosul Dam. A Kurdish official, however, said the Kurdistan Region is not facing a similar risk.
“Always keen to inform citizens of the reality of the water situation because knowledge is the only way to unite society's efforts with the ministry's effort to overcome the crisis,” Hassan Janabi, Iraq’s Minister of Water Resources, wrote in a Facebook post on May 26.
He went on, through charts and data, to show that the water level in Mosul Dam’s lake has decreased to a ten-year low. He compared a year-old image of the reservoir with one taken recently, noting a drop of about 3 billion cubic-metres.
“It is clear that the levels of the dam are lower than in any previous year,” Janabi explained, adding that the water levels have not yet been affected by a dam project under construction in Turkey.
“Again I call on all citizens to preserve the available water and reduce consumption as much as possible,” Janabi pleaded.
Images of Mosul dam's reservoir taken one year apart. Photos: Hassan Janabi/Facebook
The shortage of water has caused many areas in southern Iraq to dry up and experts are warning of an impending catastrophe.
The Kurdistan Region, however, is not facing a similar crisis, according to Akram Ahmed, head of the KRG’s Directorate for Dams and Reservoirs.
“No, it won’t have an impact,” Ahmed told Rudaw, explaining that the drop in water levels at Mosul dam won’t affect the Kurdistan Region.
The Kurdistan Region does not depend on the dam. Duhok draws some water from the Tigris River, but above the dam.
Ahmed said the Iraqi government occasionally asks the KRG to release more water from the Kurdistan Region’s Dukan and Darbandikhan dams.
The Kurdistan Region’s water problems are not a matter of supply.
“There is the issue of water management, not water scarcity,” Ahmed explained, saying that people don’t realize the value of water since they receive it largely free of cost.
The Kurdistan Region had several deadly, heavy rains this spring. Ahmed said that the lack of dams means they are not able to take advantage of the rainfall.
