2026-05-03T17:50:02+00:00
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Shafaq News- Diyala
Al-Azim Dam in Diyala province has reached full capacity
—estimated at 1.6 billion cubic meters— following recent heavy rainfall and
floods, a local official told Shafaq News on Sunday.
Nabil Al-Obeidi, director of Al-Azim subdistrict, urged
authorities to preserve the dam’s water reserves and reduce discharge levels to
secure supply during peak summer drought. He warned that continued releases,
currently at 15 cubic meters per second into the Al-Azim River, could lead to
unnecessary losses, especially as the area lacks a significant agricultural
plan beyond limited sprinkler irrigation.
Last September, the dam completely dried up, leaving only 9
meters of polluted, unusable water.
Iraq has faced a worsening drought in recent years, driven
by climate change, declining rainfall, and reduced water flows from upstream
countries, including Turkiye and Iran, cutting farmland, accelerating
desertification, and undermining food security, particularly in rural areas. At
the same time, water levels in dams and reservoirs have fallen below safe
thresholds, prompting the Ministry of Water Resources to prioritize supplies
for drinking and limited horticulture amid the absence of a comprehensive summer
agricultural plan.
Read more: Iraq’s water crisis: A structural rewrite of agricultural governance