Rising salinity and lower flow in the Euphrates forces resdients to double up on water filters

ANBAR, October 3 — Residents in the town of Hit, in Anbar governorate, say they are doubling up on water filters to address the Euphrates River’s rising salinity in light of dropping water levels.

The new, secondary filtration systems are being placed on water mains before supplies reach home and businesses. The setup allows internal filters to purify the water effectively and reduce salinity levels.

Adnan Hashem, owner of the Water Filter Maintenance Center, explained: “Day by day, the salinity percentage in the Euphrates River has been increasing, reaching up to 800 millisiemens per centimeter (mS/cm), and sometimes even up to 1000 mS/cm. This is an extremely high salinity percentage.”

He added: “For the past two months, we noticed that the internal filters have been unable to purify the water from salt and impurities, and people had to replace them every two days.”

Large filters were imported from Baghdad and installed on the main water pipes entering households. The change in water quality has been well-received by the local community, with prices ranging between 50,000 to 55,000 Iraqi dinars per filter.

Ahmed Ibrahim, a local resident, expressed his concerns about the area’s water quality, saying: “The water purity is very low, and the [internal] filter cannot perform because of the accumulation of salt and impurities. We were forced to purchase the new filters, and now they effectively remove impurities and help the internal filter do its job.”