Illegal water use chokes Iraq's Diyala river flows

Shafaq News

a day ago

Shafaq News – Diyala
Iraq's Diyala Provincial Council reported on Tuesday that the illegal use of water resources and river routes has reached critical levels, prompting a series of measures to address the violations.
In a press briefing, Omar Al-Karawi, Chairman of the Council, highlighted 301 unofficial fish ponds and more than 40 unauthorized irrigation reservoirs.
He noted that authorities have already referred 139 violators to the judiciary, further stressing the need to negotiate with the Kurdistan Region and Iran to increase the dams' water quota, ensuring more consistent and sufficient flows to the province.
Fares Mazahim Al-Jubouri, Deputy Head of the Council's Security Committee, pointed out that influential individuals are creating fish ponds while exerting pressure on officials, including the deputy governor and department heads.
Confirming that four to five additional fish ponds and wells were being established even during this press conference, he warned that the crisis is worsening across the province and its villages, with negative effects on agriculture and local communities.
Meanwhile, Raaed Al-Tamimi, head of the council's Agriculture Committee, reported that water releases from Darbandikhan Dam to Hamrin Dam total 50 cubic meters per second, but only eight cubic meters per second reach Diyala due to illegal fish ponds and diversions.
He also added that outsiders have dug ponds on 4,000 hectares across four districts, obstructing river routes and water flows beyond the province's boundaries.
Iraq faces a severe water crisis driven by years of upstream damming, reduced rainfall, and aging infrastructure, which have led to dwindling river flows. The Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources reports that the country's water availability has fallen below 1,000 cubic meters per capita annually, placing Iraq among water- scarce