Iraq faces drought on two historic rivers as Turkey and Iran seek to control transboundary waters

As the temperature in several regions of Iraq approaches 50 degrees Celsius, the water levels of the historic Tigris and Euphrates rivers are dropping, increasing the fears of the local population. People in Basra, in the south of the country, are seeing how low water levels and high salt content are damaging agricultural crops and pushing many families out of their homes in search of a new source of income.

The lack of monsoon rains and an efficient irrigation system has made it a real problem for the residents of the area to rationalize their water consumption. In addition, weak investment in infrastructure in Iraq since 2003 has led to a significant deterioration in water pipes, dams and power plants.

But external causes are also behind the lack of water in the area. The construction of dams and canals in neighbouring countries affects Iraq's water quota. Especially its neighbours Iran and Turkey continue with the process of building new dams.

Ankara started to build the Ilisu dam in 2006 and in 2018 it was put into operation, which limited the flow of water to Baghdad. The Iraqi Minister of Water Resources, Mahdi al-Hamdani, points out the news agency AFP, is betting on what he calls "strong trump cards" that Iraq could use to pressure Turkey to sign an agreement with it to guarantee a quota of water in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Al-Hamdani explains that the amounts of water received from Turkey and Iran decreased by 50% as a result of the construction of many dams and projects in the sources of both rivers. 

Abdul Amir Taiban, member of the federal parliament of Iraq and rapporteur of the parliamentary committee on agriculture and water, said that the parliament supports the government's moves to conclude an agreement with Turkey. 

Although Iraq does not have an agreement with Turkey on water, they have signed several protocols on the flow of water to their territories for decades. But Baghdad is faced with Turkey's refusal, as Ankara refuses to abide by the signed protocols and international treaties that qualify the Tigris and Euphrates rivers as international transboundary rivers.

Among the solutions the Iraqi authorities have come up with to improve the situation is to reduce the salinity of Basra's water, secure new pipes and build a snowy dam between the governorates of Salah al-Din and Kirkuk.

Since 2014, the government has focused its efforts on combating Daesh, which affected the implementation of the plans of the Ministry of Water Resources. Meanwhile, the executive faced a drop in imports due to lower oil prices.

But in 2018, the water problem became important again, when more than 24,000 Basra residents were poisoned by water pollution and hospitals and health centres were overwhelmed.

Despite Turkey's refusal to comply with international agreements and treaties on transboundary waters, the Iraqi ministry responsible for water management has conducted a round of negotiations with Ankara over the Ilisu dam, after two years without negotiations.

"We have agreed on many measures, including the signing of a protocol to operate the Ilisu dam, to ensure that the required amount reaches Iraq after the dam is completed," said Minister Al-Hamdani, who ruled out that these negotiations would be affected by Turkey's operations in northern Iraq against the Kurds

The prospects of getting an agreement with Turkey clash with the possibility of doing it with Iran. Al-Hamdani pointed out that "Iraq and Iran have an agreement in Algeria in 1975 that includes a protocol on water", although the differences between the countries make it difficult to reach agreements. However, the Iranian and Iraqi delegations continue to work to activate the pacts.