Water scarcity has reached a critical juncture in northern Syria | Weather Problems

For 71 of the 81 years, Abu Mohammad Sheikh Hussein has been cultivating fields in northeastern Syria. The past two years have seen some of the lowest water levels in his memory, he said.

“In the past, everyone who lived far from the river dug water and got water. But now, no matter how deep they dig, they can’t find any water source. ”

Unable to find groundwater, Sheikh Hussein explained that he and others in the area depend on the Euphrates River, near his hometown.

However, the river has been steadily declining to “very low” this year, according to a reports and the World Food Program.

More than five million people depend on Syria’s longest river for their livelihood, and the electricity generated by the river’s dams provides about three million people.

Sheikh Hussein said that due to the shortage of water in the dams, he and his family are currently receiving electricity for about two hours a day.

The combination of temperature and rainfall has caused the Euphrates to overflow.

Another area that seems to be affected by water is the many dam projects in northern Turkey, which are part of a decades-long development project to build 22 dams and 19 power plants on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

‘Another section of suffering’

According to a project manager working at Mercy Corps in northeastern Syria, who requested anonymity for security reasons, Tishreen Pool, one of Euphrates’ two largest dams, is about 47 inches[47 cm]high.

He explains that the water level drops by one centimeter daily, meaning that it has 47 days to run.

“The cost of delivery [the dam] the return to work will be huge, “he said.” When the turbines stop completely, the available water will flood all electrical equipment. And because of the controversy … there is no Plan B, and there are no diesel generators to pump water out of the road to protect electricity or electrical equipment. “

I am oil prices about three times this year in Syria, water has also become more expensive to pump. Mercy Corp. project manager said this “has led to an increase in the cost of agriculture, and ultimately [increased] the price of seeds and goods such as bread ”.

He added that, due to the water crisis, many people are now “relying on stagnant water in irrigation canals”, which has led to “the spread of waterborne diseases such as diarrhea and intestines”.

Also the disease, he said, fetching water from the canals is dangerous. “There were seven cases [in summer 2021] of people drowning in irrigation canals as they tried to draw water. All these people are women and children. ”

After 10 years of controversy, the project manager explained that water shortages are adding “another dimension to human suffering in the region”.

This comes in the wake of a report by 13 local organizations, which warned that urgent action was needed to address the water crisis.

As the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow ends on Friday, the project manager said he hoped the international community would receive more funding for sustainable development and reduce the effects of climate change, economic instability, and conflict. , and the COVID-19 epidemic.

Do not buy water

In contrast, in northeastern Syria, where the main source of water is the Euphrates River, in northwestern Syria the main sources of water are ground springs and springs. Terrorist territory in the northwest of the country has been under attack, often supported by Russia, compared with the peace in the northeast of Kurdish.

Jamal al-Ali, a former engineering assistant who fled to Idlib province from Damascus during the war, told Al Jazeera that electricity and water in his area were scarce and costly. Some of these items are said to be provided by the Turkish government, with secret companies offering some.

“We get water from private wells,” he said, citing 20 gallons costing $ 60, an amount that would not be affordable for many, and was exacerbated by the sharp depreciation of the Syrian pound. “For drinking water, we buy filtered water in the markets.”

He also explained that the only electricity they currently have comes from solar panels that are installed on the roof of their house, which happens in the area.

“We have solar panels with batteries just to provide LED bulbs,” al-Ali said. “Batteries are very expensive to buy, so we do not have electricity for the refrigerator or TV to operate.

“Thank God you have been given water. If there is money, there is water. If there is no money, there is no water, ”he said.

Side effects of the future

Engineer Jamal Diban, head of Idlib’s main drinking water company, said water was pumped from underground wells and local springs and was available “in many local cities”.

However, he added that the water drains water and “requires a high cost to remove”.

Diban added that the pumping station needs to be rehabilitated, and the Public Establishment for Drinking Water “is appealing to charities to help rehabilitate the facility”.

With the ongoing air strikes in northwestern Syria, the conflict continues to affect infrastructure. “The bombing … continues to happen from time to time,” al-Ali said.

According to Khaldoon A Mourad, a senior researcher on water management from Syria, now living in Sweden, “the conflict has wreaked havoc on many Syrian cities, and [has] has affected the quality of water and its quantity ”.

Mourad also added a lack of funding and security instability hampering reforms.

While some agreements have been made regarding cross-border water issues, Mourad stressed that partners and decision-makers in the region must “work together to find solutions to the water scarcity problem”.

The leader of the Mercy Corps project stressed: “If water levels do not increase in the Euphrates, we will have a serious electricity and infrastructure crisis here in northeastern Syria”.

Asked if there was any hope for the future of water in Syria, al-Ali shook his head. “I don’t think there is an answer. Impossible. ”