Iraq's rivers are suffocating with sewage, warning of humanitarian disaster

Sewage pipes are crowded on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and their tributaries in most of the Iraqi provinces, causing catastrophic environmental pollution. While the Iraqi government announced new measures to address the crisis, experts question these initiatives, noting that the situation in Iraq in general is chaotic and paralyzed.

In a country that lacks the ability to provide basic services, 70% of Iraq's industrial waste is dumped directly into rivers or into the sea, according to data compiled by the United Nations and academics.

The Iraqi capital, Baghdad, is the largest source of pollution to the waters of the Tigris, as there are 18 sewage stations that pour untreated water into the river at a rate of 700,000 cubic meters per day, while the stations pump the river's water to residential neighborhoods, according to Annahar Alarabi.

This pollution is not a newly emerging problem, but what happened is an increase in its percentage in light of the overcrowding and the random construction operations that Baghdad suffers from. This is in addition to its growing influence due to the water crisis in Iraq, as Iran has cut off most of the rivers flowing from its lands into the country over the past months, contributing to a severe drought, even though about 40 rivers flowing from Iran to Iraq are international transboundary rivers, France 24 reported.

The quantities of water flowing from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and their branches from Turkey have also decreased over the past months, which raised the alarm.

Iraq relies on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to meet almost all of its water needs. The two rivers originate in Turkey and flow into the Shatt al-Arab basin in southern Iraq. While the Euphrates River crosses Syria and Iraq, the Tigris River flows from Turkey directly into Iraq.

Jaafar Jotheri, a geoarchaeology professor at the University of Al-Qadisiyah in Iraq, told Jusoor Post that “the pollution index in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is rising day after day. From their entry into Iraq, the sub-tributaries begin to pump polluted water that carries toxins, whether medical or industrial. This actually makes the purification plants unable to completely purify it due to their lack of advanced technology capable of treating this type of water.”

Jotheri warned of an impending environmental catastrophe, saying, “Does anyone imagine that hospital waste is being dumped into the fresh waters of rivers?”

The Ahwar of southern Iraq, a World Heritage site and considered one of the most important water bodies in southern Iraq, is under greater threat than ever due to the mismanagement of the sewage that flows directly into it. This causes the death of fish and buffaloes and affects the diversity of plant and animal life.

Jotheri explained that the irrigation and drainage networks in southern Iraq suffer from complete neglect. “Most of the irrigation networks are mixed with drainage canals. The farmers dig and adjust irrigation and drainage canals without obtaining approvals from the government,” he said.

Regarding how citizens deal with the crisis, Jotheri explained that the fresh water distribution networks in all Iraqi cities are polluted and are not suitable for drinking or daily use, and therefore some citizens who enjoy a good economic situation are forced to buy bottled water.

New government proposal

In an effort to confront environmental pollution, the Iraqi Ministry of Environment announced on Sunday a proposal to reduce water pollution and treat desertification at the same time.

The government statements indicated that a new plan to end this crisis is based on directing sewage water to other sites, such as desalination plants that will be established to treat it or towards agricultural lands for irrigation uses.

“The capacity of sewage plants in Baghdad is designed for only 3 million people, but today there are 8 million people,” Issa Al-Fayyad, Director General of the Technical Department at the Ministry of Environment, said in a television statement.

Over the past decades, the infrastructure of the capital has not been rehabilitated or renewed as a result of 13 years of the siege imposed in 1991. This was followed by the bloody sectarian conflicts that followed the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the most recent of which was the ISIS invasion of the country. This made the sewage file complicated in the absence of the correct procedure to treat it.

Medical waste and industrial projects in Baghdad also represent pollution of the Tigris water, along with steel industry companies, oil refineries, and others.

Commenting on these government statements, Jotheri noted that “what hinders this plan is the government's reluctance to establish projects,” adding, “All governments since 2003 have thought about such solutions and nothing has been implemented. There are thousands of projects across the country awaiting approval of the annual budget to resume, as well as the risks of financial and administrative corruption.”

“The situation in general is characterized by complete chaos, and there is no solution in sight,” Jotheri said, expressing his lack of optimism about the government's statements, which he described as helpless and weak.

“Even if any of these projects are implemented in the future, they will not work as planned due to government failure and the lack of oversight,” he explained.