By Anwar Faruqi
http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidANA20110127T155731ZOUC11/No%20Hydropower%20From%20Iraq
BAGHDAD, Jan 27, 2011 (AFP) - Record low water levels at Iraq's largest hydroelectric dam have ground turbines there to a halt, amplifying a power shortage that led to riots last summer, a top official said on Thursday.
Adel Mahdi, advisor to the electricity minister, said water levels at the Mosul dam on the Tigris River had fallen to 298 metres (977 feet) above sea level.
"It is the first time since 1984 when the dam was built that water levels have fallen this low," Mahdi told AFP.
"The installed power generation capacity of Mosul's hydroelectric plant is 1,175 megawatts, but the current production is zero, because the turbines need a minimum water level of 307 metres (1,007 feet) to operate," he added.
He said half of the water to the dam was coming from Turkey, and the rest from Iran and the mountains of Iraq.
The Tigris and Euphrates which gave Iraq its ancient name of Mesopotamia, meaning "land of two rivers," reach Iraq through Turkey.
The Tigris flows directly from Turkey, and the Euphrates goes from Turkey through Syria, then flows to Iraq. Water projects in the two countries have had a severe impact on Iraq.
Mahdi said Iraq also was eyeing with extreme worry Turkey's controversial Aliso dam on the Tigris, work on which began in 2006.
"If Aliso is completed, it will finish with the Tigris in Iraq completely," Mahdi said.
Mahdi said hydropower from Iraq's Haditha dam on the Euphrates was also operating at less than 50 percent of capacity because of water shortages due to irrigation and dam projects in Turkey.
He added that Iraqis will have to endure power outages next summer as well, because additional supply would be matched by an expected 10 percent rise in demand, leaving Iraqis with an average of eight hours of power per day.
Mahdi said the situation would not improve before 2013, when projects in the pipeline now would add another 10,000 megawatts to the grid.
He put overall Iraqi electricity demand at 15,000 megawatts, and supply at 8,500 megawatts.
Due to the shortfall, homes and businesses nationwide suffer daily cuts and rely on private generators to fill the gap, as the war-ravaged country struggles to boost capacity.
Angry Iraqis staged violent demonstrations last summer in several southern cities over power rationing as temperatures reached 54 degrees Celsius (130 degrees Fahrenheit).
Iraq's infrastructure was devastated during the 2003 US-led invasion and more than a decade of sanctions that preceded it.
afq/psr/al
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est Iraq's water crisis. Afficher tous les articles
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est Iraq's water crisis. Afficher tous les articles
samedi 29 janvier 2011
jeudi 10 septembre 2009
It will take an international effort to solve Iraq's water crisis
Comment by John Robson to article :http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/26/water-shortage-threat-iraq
A reconstruction effort to match the 20 years of destruction should be a top priority
John Robson
The Guardian,
Thursday 10 September 2009
Your article on water shortages in southern Iraq is a timely reminder of the conditions facing a devastated rural community (Water shortage threatens two million people in southern Iraq, 27 August). It draws attention to those still affected by the wars that have raged over the last 20 years. The need for action is desperate.
The destruction of the Iraq marshes and the way of life of the Marsh Arabs has long been acknowledged, but awareness of the destruction of agriculture and rural life in the irrigated lands of the Euphrates and Tigris are less well known.
No significant action on these problems has ever been taken. A programme of reconstruction and development to match the 20 years of destruction now needs to be given top priority.
The government officials quoted in your article illustrate different ways of understanding and different priorities. Salah Aziz, director of planning, mentions the cultivation of "wheat, rice, barley, fruit and vegetables" and that "for thousands of years that land was 100% in use – this year less than 50%". The implication is that "significantly lower than normal rainfalls" are the reason for this – but rainfall in southern Iraq is never adequate for any crop.
From the early 1960s to the 1990s, I was directly involved in Iraq as an irrigation consultant, working with the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. I was aware of significant progress in many areas, but of only limited improvements in land settlement and farming. These latter weaknesses are still unresolved.
Farming and cultivation under the harsh climatic conditions of Mesopotamia require exceptional technical and management skills. A fresh approach is now needed to raise irrigated agriculture to a new level.
By comparison, conditions for rain-fed agriculture in northern Mesopotamia are far more favourable.
The lack of an international agreement on division and operation of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers between Turkey, Syria and Iraq demonstrates that it has been a low priority. But examples of working agreements exist (such as the Niles Water Agreement between Sudan and Egypt), and the situation is not irretrievable. Turkey requires its water mainly to generate power, plus some irrigation for agriculture during the slightly dryer summer season.
Historically there is relatively little need for diversion of supplies to the foothills along the Syrian border. Syria has relatively little river plain, and has never been a major abstracter. Similar conditions apply to the Tigris. But as a historic downstream user, Iraq's water needs must be internationally recognised. On the southern Iranian rivers flowing into the Iraqi marshes, a broad strategy for agreement could be drawn up, bringing more stability to this long-disputed area.
There is wide national and international responsibility for the tragic conditions under which the rural poor of Iraq are now living. Now is the time for effective international help.
John Robson was a rivers, irrigation and agriculture consultant in Iraq from the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s
john.f.robson@btinternet.com
A reconstruction effort to match the 20 years of destruction should be a top priority
John Robson
The Guardian,
Thursday 10 September 2009
Your article on water shortages in southern Iraq is a timely reminder of the conditions facing a devastated rural community (Water shortage threatens two million people in southern Iraq, 27 August). It draws attention to those still affected by the wars that have raged over the last 20 years. The need for action is desperate.
The destruction of the Iraq marshes and the way of life of the Marsh Arabs has long been acknowledged, but awareness of the destruction of agriculture and rural life in the irrigated lands of the Euphrates and Tigris are less well known.
No significant action on these problems has ever been taken. A programme of reconstruction and development to match the 20 years of destruction now needs to be given top priority.
The government officials quoted in your article illustrate different ways of understanding and different priorities. Salah Aziz, director of planning, mentions the cultivation of "wheat, rice, barley, fruit and vegetables" and that "for thousands of years that land was 100% in use – this year less than 50%". The implication is that "significantly lower than normal rainfalls" are the reason for this – but rainfall in southern Iraq is never adequate for any crop.
From the early 1960s to the 1990s, I was directly involved in Iraq as an irrigation consultant, working with the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. I was aware of significant progress in many areas, but of only limited improvements in land settlement and farming. These latter weaknesses are still unresolved.
Farming and cultivation under the harsh climatic conditions of Mesopotamia require exceptional technical and management skills. A fresh approach is now needed to raise irrigated agriculture to a new level.
By comparison, conditions for rain-fed agriculture in northern Mesopotamia are far more favourable.
The lack of an international agreement on division and operation of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers between Turkey, Syria and Iraq demonstrates that it has been a low priority. But examples of working agreements exist (such as the Niles Water Agreement between Sudan and Egypt), and the situation is not irretrievable. Turkey requires its water mainly to generate power, plus some irrigation for agriculture during the slightly dryer summer season.
Historically there is relatively little need for diversion of supplies to the foothills along the Syrian border. Syria has relatively little river plain, and has never been a major abstracter. Similar conditions apply to the Tigris. But as a historic downstream user, Iraq's water needs must be internationally recognised. On the southern Iranian rivers flowing into the Iraqi marshes, a broad strategy for agreement could be drawn up, bringing more stability to this long-disputed area.
There is wide national and international responsibility for the tragic conditions under which the rural poor of Iraq are now living. Now is the time for effective international help.
John Robson was a rivers, irrigation and agriculture consultant in Iraq from the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s
john.f.robson@btinternet.com
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