Iraqi delegation set to visit Iran as water scarcity bites

Iraq's southern marshes are drying up due to Tehran's water policies

The water level of the Darbandikhan Dam in north-east Iraq has fallen by 7. 5 metres in a year, with officials blaming neighbouring Iran. All photos: AFP

Iraqi officials warned of a drastic drop in the flow of water in a river from Iran due to low rainfall and dam-building in the Islamic Republic.

The Sirwan River begins in Iran then flows to Iraq's Darbandikhan Dam before going through the rural province of Diyala and joining the Tigris.

Rahman Khani, the dam's director, said there had been an "unprecedented decline" in water levels.

Mr Khani said the dam had received 900 million cubic metres of water this year, a fraction of the annual average of 4.7 billion cubic metres.

Aoun Thiab, a senior adviser at Iraq's water ministry, said Iran was "violating international law by diverting a river flow".

Iraq will send a technical delegation to Iran this week to negotiate the release of water into the country as the majority of its rivers and marshes are drying up.

For years, the neighbouring countries have been in a dispute over water issues — especially as Baghdad relies on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for nearly all of its water but Tehran is building dams to divert more of the flow of the two rivers.

Iraq has been suffering from acute water shortages. Iraqi experts say the country's southern marshes — which lie in some of the hardest hit areas — are drying up as a direct result of Iran's water policies.

“The southern Hawizeh marsh has been suffering from water scarcity for eight months, although the ministry of water resources have launched expenditures from the nearby Khala River but it’s not enough,” said Hatem Hamid, the director general of the National Centre for Water Resources Management.

The Hawizeh marsh straddles the border between Iran and Iraq.

“The situation will continue unless the flood waters come from the Iranian side,” Mr Hamid said.

Iraq needs Iran to “co-operate to open the flows of water from its Tayeb and Dureij rivers,” Mr Hamid added.

Earlier this month the ministry of water resources completed procedures to file a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice against Iran’s water policy.

But action in court will depend on decision-makers in Baghdad.

The ministry also issued a warning that Iraq's Tigris and Euphrates rivers could dry up by 2040 because of declining water levels and climate change.

“The rate of decline in water imports to Iraq has begun gradually and will decrease to 30 per cent by 2035,” the Ministry of Water Resources said.

The country’s water inflows during the summer are estimated to be about 40 billion cubic metres. A decrease in supply to 30 per cent of normal levels will result in Iraq receiving 11 billion cubic metres annually, the report said.

Officials in Baghdad have accused Iran of breaking international law and endangering Iraq’s agricultural sector and, in some cases, its supply of drinking water.