Khanaqin is facing a stifling potable water crisis, official says

Shafaq News / Khanaqin residents protested the potable water crisis the district is going through, while the local administration confirmed that it is preparing plans to solve the problem.

Residents told Shafaq News agency that the issue is due to the lack of water revenues in the district and the recurrent violations of irrigation systems.

The director of water resources in Khanaqin, Muaiad Shaker, told Shafaq News agency that the district's administration has formed a crisis cell to solve the issue.

"We have developed several proposals to confront the crisis, including digging 12-15 wells to secure water for 12 filtering stations in Khanaqin, the most prominent of which is the Khanaqin water project, as well as a plan to purify and dredge the Alvand River to increase water levels."

He indicated that the main source of water purification stations in Khanaqin is the Alvand Dam, whose water storage is more than 32 million cubic meters, noting, "the current releases amounting of two cubic meters per second dropped, and there are 10 million cubic meters of mud in the dam currently, causing a crisis in supplying potable water."

The water crisis cell in Khanaqin has requested the concerned government agencies to extend underground covered pipes of 25 km in length and 1 m in diameter from the Sirwan River in the borders of Kurdistan to the Alvand River to ensure water access to the district and prevent violations, but the request is still pending and waiting for approval, he pointed out.

Official sources confirm that Khanaqin residents' need for potable water amounts to 2000 cubic meters per hour, but water production has decreased to 800 cubic meters per hour. Meanwhile, eastern Diyala regions face the same problem after the Iranian side constructed dams and diverted streams to its lands.