Specialized officials in northern Syria have warned of a “humanitarian Disaster” due to the decline in water levels at the Euphrates Dam in Syria, as Turkey continues to reduce the amount of water flowing into the Euphrates River.
“The region will face a real humanitarian disaster if Turkey continues to wage a water war and a repeat of its loss of the waters of the Euphrates River, which irrigates hundreds of thousands of hectares there, especially this year, which is a dry year due to the lack of monsoon rains that hit the region, and has greatly affected rain-fed agriculture,” Muhammad Al-Salem the head of the Peasants’ Union in Raqqa, said according to media.
Al-Salem warned of the deterioration of the economic situation of the residents of the regions there during the coming period, in which more than 85 percent of the population depends on agriculture, due to the inability of farmers to cultivate their lands with strategic summer crops, especially cotton, which needs irrigation in large and continuous quantities.
For his part, Fahad Samayla, the joint head of the Tel Tamer Electricity Center in Hasakeh province, attributed the increase in electricity rationing in the region to Turkey’s cut off water from the Euphrates Dam, as the amount pumped to the dam is now less than half, which is not enough to generate electricity.
Samayla also pointed out that the amount of water is now 200 square meters per hour out of 500 square meters, warning of a “real disaster” if the water level continues to drop, especially as the region is coming to summer.
In addition to agriculture and livestock being greatly affected, it is worth noting that the drop in the water level of the Euphrates River has affected all aspects of life, , as the region is currently experiencing an electrical crisis, as a result of the suspension of hydroelectric generation groups in the Euphrates Dam, which generally supply Syria with electricity.
In a statement issued earlier this month, the General Administration of Euphrates Dams in Syria condemned “Turkish practices and manipulating the water level of rivers and its flow and using it as a blackmail card.”
It also noted that this is a violation of humanitarian law and a war crime, calling on the international community to intervene and pressure Turkey to adhere to international law and to stop stealing water and manipulating its level.
The administration also indicated in its statement, that there is a daily decrease in The Euphrates Lake at a rate of 4 cm per day and is consumed in the generation of electricity on an inward basis of 500 cubic meters, and when running irrigation will reach the attrition of more than 5 cm per day, while the extent of the decrease in a month will be more than 1.5 meters per day, and thus the Euphrates Lake will reach the level of 300 meters, a critical level that leads to the suspension of the Euphrates Dam from generating electricity.
