The rising salinity of Shatt al-Arab exacerbates the drought crisis in Basra

The rising salinity of Shatt al-Arab exacerbates the drought crisis in Basra

'' Tehran pumps salt water '' ...

03/07/2018 - 19:52 Iraq



The Ministry of Water Resources warned of the escalation of salinity rates in the Shatt al-Arab in Basra because of the pumping of salt water to the Iraqi side, while the country is facing a drought crisis led to clan disputes south.

Two years ago, Iraq was forced to build a 80-kilometer-long earth cover at the Shalamjah border crossing with Iran to prevent the arrival of highly salty Iranian saline water to the Shatt al-Arab, while officials last month warned of the collapse of the embankment.

The Ministry of Water Resources said in a statement yesterday that «the province of Basra suffers a tragic situation because of the high salinity of Shatt al-Arab, which reached high rates prevent the continuation of use in the usual form». The ministry pointed out that "the concentration of salts in the area of ​​Sehan, (the historical site of the mouth of the Karun River in the Shatt al-Arab), reached 25000 ppm compared to 2000 ppm in the area of ​​two brochures in the Upper Shatt. This is due to two reasons: The period of the year from the Iranian side, as happened in previous years, as well as the high tide that drives the water in the direction of the center of the city of Basra ».

The Ministry of Water announced that it had recently completed the operation of the Shatt al-Arab irrigation canal, which provides water for irrigation and drinking on both sides of the coast, from the Katban area to Ras al-Bisha and through Abu al-Khasib.

She pointed out that «is continuing to rehabilitate and maintain the water channel Basra (channel bid'ah) that deliver drinking water to the province».

The ministry stressed that it "will spare no effort in providing its services to the city of Basra," stressing that "it decided more than a year ago to increase the share of Basra from water to 75 cubic meters per second," calling on the Iranian side to "stop pumping saline water in the Shatt al-Arab , And the launch of a certain percentage of the fresh revenue in the Karon Karkh rivers ».

In another context, the Minister of Water Resources Hassan al-Janabi said that «Basra has no options for the provision of drinking water, but the establishment of desalination plants sea water», and advised to do so as soon as possible.

He stressed that «the implementation of such projects rests with the local government and the Ministry of Housing and Municipalities».

Iraq faces a drought this summer, the harshest since decades, after Turkey began filling the Aliso dam on the Tigris River. Tribal conflicts erupted over water in the south of the country, where the people living on agriculture were unable to get enough of them.

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