The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) warned of an escalating water crisis in the Euphrates River after the water level of Lake Euphrates Dam dropped to about six meters.
AANES stated through its official accounts today, Wednesday, April 30, that the low water flow coming from the Turkish side, currently estimated at 250 cubic meters per second, along with the damage to the Tishrin Dam due to Turkish attacks, and the failure to reconnect the dam to the general network after it returned to operational status due to faults in the high-voltage networks, are factors that have exacerbated the water and electricity situation in the region.
It added that an exceptional drought wave that the region is suffering from this year has increased the demand for irrigation and drinking water and raised the evaporation rate from the lakes to nearly 250 cubic meters per second, which has doubled the pressure on the Euphrates Dam and led to the depletion of the strategic water reserves of the dam’s lake to critically low levels.
The administration noted that the water level of the Euphrates Lake today, Wednesday, reached 298.32 meters above sea level, while it is supposed to be 304 meters, indicating a significant drop of more than five meters from the normal level, which suggests a water shortage of about four billion cubic meters.
Rasha al-Khadr, the co-chair of the Energy Authority affiliated with AANES in the city of al-Tabqa, stated that the authority had to take measures to control the amount of water flowing from the Euphrates Dam to preserve the lake’s water and save the winter and summer agricultural seasons, as well as to continue providing drinking water for about six million people.
She called for positive and urgent intervention from the Syrian government through official channels and pressuring Turkey to ensure the passage of the agreed-upon amount of water, amounting to 500 cubic meters per second, according to previous protocols between Syria, Turkey, and Iraq.
Al-Khadr urged the Syrian government to secure alternative energy sources to relieve pressure on the dams, such as sending a quantity of electricity from thermal stations inside Syria.
She added that reducing the amount of water being released could help maintain the lake levels in the dams for essential uses like drinking and irrigation, emphasizing the necessity of reconnecting the Tishrin Dam to the public electrical network, especially with the Euphrates Dam, to help alleviate pressure on it.
AANES accuses Turkey of withholding large quantities of water from the Euphrates River and uses water as a “weapon” to bring the region under its control, according to previous statements by the former co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), Riyad Darar.
International relief organizations have previously warned that millions of people in Syria and Iraq are at risk of losing access to water, electricity, and food, amid rising temperatures and record low water levels due to reduced rainfall and drought.
The report noted that about five million people in Syria directly rely on the Euphrates River and are threatened by drought and loss of access to water.
AANES warns of escalating Euphrates water crisis Enab Baladi.
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