Darbandikhan: The reservoir behind the massive Darbandikhan Dam, nestled among the rolling mountains of northeastern Iraq, is nearly full after four years of drought and severe water shortages.
Iraqi officials say recent rains have filled several key reservoirs that have been short of water, reaching record levels since 2019.
With current reserves, the dam has lost only 25 centimeters (10 inches) of water to be considered full,” Darbandikhan director Saman Ismail told AFP on Sunday. .
Built on the Sirwan River, this dam is located south of the city of Sulaymaniyah in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan.
“We can say it will be full in the coming days,” Ismail said with water several meters below the road flowing along the side of the pond.
The central government in Baghdad said high dams built in neighboring Iran and Turkey have significantly reduced the flow of water in Iraqi rivers, causing rising temperatures and erratic rainfall.
However, heavy rains this winter have helped reduce poverty in Iraq, which is ranked by the United Nations as one of the five countries most vulnerable to some of the impacts of climate change.
Torrential rains in oil-rich Iraq, where infrastructure often collapses, also flooded streets in the Kurdistan Regional Capital Arbil.
Last week, floods in Kurdistan killed four tourists and collapsed houses in Diyala, a rural province in central Iraq.
Ali Radi Thamer, head of the dam organization at Iraq’s water resources ministry, said water levels were rising in most of the country’s six largest dams.
In Mosul Dam, the largest reservoir with a capacity of about 11 billion cubic meters, “the storage level is very good, we take advantage of the rain and floods,” he said.
“Iraq’s water reserves … reached historic levels,” he said last summer.
“The current reserve will have a positive impact on all sectors,” he said.
He warned that 2019 would see “a dramatic increase in water reserves” followed by “four consecutive droughts”.
Water has become a critical issue in Iraq, a country of 43 million people facing a severe environmental crisis from severe climate change, with summer temperatures reaching 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit).
“Of course, the rain and flooding today, the water supply has increased a little, but that doesn’t mean the drought is over,” Thamer said.
About five kilometers (three miles) south of Darbandikhan, the terrace near the tourist center is flooded by a small river.
But owner Aland Salah likes to see the glass half full.
“The water of the Sirwan River is a blessing,” he told AFP.
“We have some damage, but we will continue to work.”
