Huge amount of rain water are wasted annually in Diyala Valleys, local official says

Shafaq News / A government official in Diyala governorate announced on Sunday that seven valleys in Mandali and Kazaniyah districts at the borders with Iran are full of water, calling for building dams to store the excess water for agricultural and daily-use purposes.  

The director of Kazaniyah and Mandali districts, Mazen Akram Al-Khuzaie, told Shafaq News agency that huge torrents flowed towards Mandali and Kazaniyah and flooded 7 valleys; two of which in Kazaniyah and five in Mandali, without causing any damages to agricultural villages or lands.

Al-Khhuzaie explained that torrents coming from Iran are wasted with no practical benefit as Kazaniyah and Mandali dams have been out of service for years due to lack of maintenance.

 The director of Kazaniyah deemed constructing two dams in Kazaniyah and Mandali as a strategic water storage plan, indicating that the Ministry of Water Resources and the General Authority for Dams have dispatched teams to explore the dams in the area without implementing further practical steps.

The border areas of Diyala with Iran, especially Kazaniyah district (110 east of Baqubah), and Mandali district (90 km east of Baqubah) are exposed seasonally, in winter and spring, to huge torrents originating from Iran.