50+ violations threaten Euphrates water in Iraq’s Al-Anbar
Shafaq News- Al-Anbar
A specialized environmental team identified 54 violations and pollution hotspots affecting water quality along the Euphrates River, from the Iraq-Syria border to Haditha Lake, an environmental expert told Shafaq News on Thursday.
Samim Salam Abu Furat said the specialists conducted a four-day field survey covering the areas of Al-Rummanah, Al-Qaim, Al-Obaidi, Ana, and Rawa. Researchers also tracked the river's main course using GPS devices and compared findings with recent satellite imagery.
The survey identified five major outlets discharging untreated sewage into the Euphrates, some located near drinking water treatment plants. It also recorded four unlicensed sand quarries and processing sites that are eroding riverbanks and altering their natural structure, alongside five locations where poultry waste and animal carcasses were dumped into the river. Investigators further documented eight fish ponds operating without permits whose waste affects water quality, as well as 10 sites where construction debris had narrowed parts of the river channel and obstructed water flow. In addition, researchers recorded 22 agricultural and residential encroachments along the riverbanks.
Read more: Al-Anbar: An unfinished chapter in Iraq’s water story
Protecting the Euphrates, one of Iraq's most important water sources, is a "national priority," Abu Furat pointed out. He urged relevant government agencies to take immediate action, calling for regulating fish farms in line with environmental standards and strengthening monitoring through field inspections and remote-sensing technologies.
