Water resources complain of frequent encroachments on rivers: there is no need to construct new dams

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[size=52]Water resources complain of frequent encroachments on rivers: there is no need to construct new dams[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad / Firas Adnan[/size]
[size=45]The Ministry of Water Resources complains about the significant decline in water revenues and the large number of transgressions on rivers, stressing that there is no need to construct new reservoirs, pointing out that the current dams suffer from a severe shortage, but at the same time it denied that the liquefaction stations had stopped, stressing that drinking water is secured until the present time.[/size]
[size=45]"Iraq is currently suffering from a significant decrease in the water level of dams and reservoirs," ministry spokesman Ali Radi Thamer said.[/size]
[size=45]Thamer added, "The main reason for this sharp decline is the lack of water revenues for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers from the Turkish side."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out, “The ministry resorted to releasing water from dams and reservoirs to address the shortage and meet the requirements.”[/size]
[size=45]Thamer explained, "This left a large reservoir void," stressing that "Iraq does not need to construct large reservoir dams; Because the existing dams suffer from a huge void.”[/size]
[size=45]And he stated, "What is being released now meets the humanitarian needs, but we suffer from frequent violations of water and agricultural areas within the winter plan and fish lakes."[/size]
[size=45]Thamer described the scale of these abuses as “massive,” and pointed out to “directives issued by the Council of Ministers to coordinate with the Operations Command in the governorates and support the Supreme Judicial Council in lifting the abuses and holding the violators accountable.”[/size]
[size=45]And he stated, "Efforts in this regard are still continuing in order to secure the arrival of water rations to all governorates, especially in the southern regions of Basra, Maysan, Dhi Qar and Muthanna."[/size]
[size=45]Thamer went on to say, "Drinking water is secured, and the water stations have not witnessed any problems so far, and our real problem, both in northern Baghdad and the rear of the Samarra Dam towards the south, is the violations that we are working to remove in coordination with the relevant authorities."[/size]
[size=45]Informed sources in the ministry confirm that “the Minister of Water Resources communicated this picture to the Prime Minister, who instructed to take all necessary measures to activate the negotiation files with Turkey, Iran and Syria,” stressing that “the water negotiation file is sovereign and linked to the supreme authority of the state,” pointing out that “it is from The mistake is to imagine that the Ministry of Water Resources is the main body concerned with managing this file, but the Ministry of Water Resources manages the technical side of it.[/size]
[size=45]For his part, Adel Al-Mukhtar, a specialist in water affairs, stated that “drought warnings have been issued since 2017, especially since Iraq was recently considered the fifth country affected by climate change.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Mukhtar added, "Iraq was then faced with two issues, the first was to reject the Turkish measure to construct the Al-Jazra Dam, which eliminates water in the Tigris Basin, and the second is to reconsider the agricultural policy based on floods."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out, "The water situation in Iraq is very dangerous, because we did not receive rain waves like those that fell in 2019."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Mukhtar said, "The strategic stockpile is estimated at 8 billion, which is very low and is considered the worst since 2017."[/size]
[size=45]He explained, "The Ministry of Water Resources had confirmed that the water storage decreased by 50% from the previous season, but at the same time it added an additional million dunums to the agricultural plan, and this is an unjustified measure in light of the current drought."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Mukhtar stressed, "The ministry recently talked about how to provide the third and fourth flags with the decline in revenues from the Turkish side."[/size]
[size=45]He expressed his hope that "the snow in Turkey will melt and return to us, and these are just wishes, given that the agricultural plans are based on scientific foundations, according to the amount of water available."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Mukhtar describes, "The water situation is dangerous with the lack of revenues coming from Turkey," noting that "the water that is supposed to go to the Gulf is 125 cubic meters per second, until it pushes the salty tongue away from Basra."[/size]
[size=45]He stressed, "What we are observing today is the rise of saline water because Iraq does not have the water quantities capable of paying it, and in the best case the releases there were 90 cubic meters per second."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Mukhtar believes that “the Turkish statements that Iraq does not preserve the water that reaches it and that it pushes it towards the Gulf, based on these estimates, is incorrect.”[/size]
[size=45]He called for "activating the memorandum of understanding that was agreed upon in 2015, which includes two conditions, namely providing an appropriate water share for Iraq, and the second is sharing the damage between Turkey and Iraq."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Mukhtar spoke about the delay in the formation of the National Water Council, whose law varies between the government and parliament for more than 10 years.[/size]
[size=45]And he stated, “This council raises the water file from the Ministry of Water Resources to the Prime Minister, along with a group of impartial experts, in order to negotiate with neighboring countries the current pressure papers, including the trade balance, the balance of payments, oil, and the military file.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Mukhtar wonders, “What if the next winter is also dry? And here the disaster will be if we do not take quick measures to address the drought crisis.”[/size]
[size=45]He regrets that "the whole world spoke of early warnings of the drought crisis, and the same applies to the United Nations, but Iraq did not take its precautions."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Mukhtar concluded, “The Ministry of Agriculture is still cultivating with irrigation, although the advisors of this ministry talk about the importance of modern irrigation, but there has been no change until the present time.”[/size]
[size=45]The House of Representatives had confirmed the follow-up of the water file and the scarcity crisis, and called for the resumption of discussions with the Turkish and Iranian sides in order to guarantee Iraq's water rights, stressing the need to apply international principles related to the sharing of damage, expressing its criticism of the movement of previous governments regarding the water file because it did not give it the necessary importance. .[/size]
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