Iraq launches major water projects to combat shortages

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Minister of Water Resources, Aoun Diab, has announced the launch of several significant water projects aimed at addressing the country’s severe water shortages. These initiatives are being developed in collaboration with Turkey and Iran, countries with considerable expertise in water management.

In an interview with state-owned Al-Sabah newspaper, Diab highlighted a flagship project involving a pipeline irrigation network along the Euphrates River in Karbala. The project will irrigate an area of 10,000 dunams (approximately 2,500 acres). “We are proceeding with a project for pipeline-based irrigation in collaboration with Turkey and Iran, utilising their technical capabilities and expertise,” Diab said.

The minister noted that similar pipeline irrigation projects are planned for other regions, with capacities matching that of the Karbala project. The ministry is also prioritising the concrete lining of major rivers to prevent water loss through seepage and reduce the overgrowth of reeds and bulrushes, which consume large amounts of water and obstruct flow to downstream areas.

Ongoing work includes the lining of the two branches of the Daghara River in Diwaniyah, the Dujaila River in Wasit, and rivers such as the Mushrah in Amara, the Mahroot in Diyala, and the Bani Hasan Canal in Karbala. Diab stated that these projects would expand to other provinces as long as funding remains available.

These initiatives come amid a broader plan by the Ministry of Water Resources to address Iraq’s growing water crisis, worsened by upstream dam projects in Turkey and Iran. These projects have drastically reduced the flow of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which now bring in less than 30% of their historical averages.

Diab also mentioned the large-scale Wassit-Dijla project, which spans 560,000 dunams (about 140,000 acres) along both sides of the Tigris River from Suwaira to Kut. The ministry is focusing on modernising irrigation methods to improve agricultural efficiency in these areas.

Iraq’s agricultural sector is facing mounting threats from climate change, with a 1.5°C rise in average temperatures since the 1980s and predictions of a 50% reduction in water availability by 2030, according to the United Nations. This has led to declining crop yields in southern Iraq, where rising soil salinity and extreme weather conditions are becoming more prevalent.