Iraq: Basra residents demand govt help amid lack of clean water

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Salinity and mud in Shatt al-Arab river is raising concerns among residents in Basra amid poisoning risks, as seen on Monday.

“Every year we suffer from the high water salinity and increase of salty areas, and this water can never be used for watering plants because it kills the crop. The government is fully responsible for this recurring crisis,” explained local farmer Ahmed Qais.

The water’s salinity is also causing issues for desalination plant whose owners struggle to cope with the demand.

“We purify and sell water but we can’t meet the high demand because of the salinity of water. The water in Shatt Al Arab is also extremely muddy and salty,” said Bader Almawsawi, the owner of a water desalination plant.

According to the report published on the website of Human Right Watch, “in the summer of 2018, when at least 118,000 people were hospitalised due to symptoms doctors identified as related to water quality” due to degradation of Basra’s water sources.

SOT, Ahmed Qais, Farmer (Arabic): “How long will the water in Busra remain too salty? This water cannot be used for irrigation, swimming or any other purposes. The residents of Basra are confused especially with high prices of desalinated water, and this is not something new. Every year we suffer from the high water salinity and increase of salty areas, and this water can never be used for watering plants because it kills the crops. The government is fully responsible for this recurring crisis.”

SOT, Alaa Albidran, Water and agriculture specialist (Arabic): “The solution of water salinity is building a more sophisticated water treatment plant that depends on desalinated water or water transported from northern Basra as it is the case in Al-bada canal. On the other hand, regarding agriculture, we’ve established an irrigation canal so the Ministry of Water Resources has to make it operational as soon as possible. Also, we have to plan a closed irrigation project to the benefits of the farmers who suffered severely from salinity in Shatt Al-Arab. Third, the construction of the dam is so necessary since it prevents the access of salty water.”

SOT, Bader Almawsawi, Owner of water desalination plant (Arabic): “This is a desalination water plant, we purify and sell water but we can’t meet the high demand because of the salinity of water. The water in Shatt Al-Arab is also extremely muddy and salty. One ton of desalinated water is sold for 10,000 Iraqi Dinar, even though the market is sluggish, many families cannot afford buying more than 1 ton every month.”

#Iraq #Basra #Water #Desalination

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