ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Water reserves in the Kurdistan Region’s dams have increased by around 500 million cubic meters since early December, following successive waves of heavy rainfall, an official told Rudaw on Thursday.
“During the most recent rainfall alone, more than 200 million cubic meters of water have been stored in the dams,” said Rahman Khani, head of the Kurdistan Region’s Dams Department.
Khani added that total water levels across the Region's dams have risen by more than half a billion cubic meters since the beginning of December.
The Region's three main strategic dams - Dukan, Darbandikhan, and Duhok - have all recorded notable increases.
Water levels at Darbandikhan Dam have risen by three meters, while Dukan Dam has seen a two-meter increase. Duhok Dam, the third-largest, has also benefited significantly from the recent inflows, Khani said.
Meanwhile, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is advancing work on six new dam projects: Dwin and Bani Talaban in Erbil province; Zalan and Chaq-Chaq in Sulaimani; and Bawenur and Khornawazan in the Garmiyan area. Once completed, the projects are expected to add a combined storage capacity of 180 million cubic meters.
Despite the recent improvement, the Kurdistan Region and the rest of Iraq continue to face a severe water crisis caused by historically low water reserves, declining rainfall, and upstream dam construction in Turkey and Iran. Prolonged drought conditions in parts of Sulaimani and Duhok have forced some residents to abandon water-scarce villages.
In response, the KRG has launched emergency water projects in Erbil and Sulaimani aimed at alleviating shortages and improving access to drinking water.
Iraq consumes more than 80 percent of its available water resources and ranks among the world’s 25 most water-stressed countries, according to the World Resources Institute.
The country relies heavily on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, but large-scale Turkish dam projects — including the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) - have reduced downstream water flows to less than 40 percent of historic levels. Reduced rainfall, rising temperatures, upstream water controls, and decades of mismanagement have further compounded the crisis.