ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - An environmental expert has warned that the salinity of the Shatt al-Arab waterway in southern Iraq has significantly worsened, posing stark consequences for drinking water in the region and leaving to another wave of protests in Basra demanding government action to resolve the crisis.

Basra is facing one of the worst water crises in decades, driven by a sharp drop in water flowing downstream from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which have allowed saltwater from the Shatt al-Arab to extend deep into the city.

Residents of the province have staged repeated protests against the worsening situation and a perceived ineffectual response by authorites, which has affected drinking water in the region.

Environmental expert Alaa al-Badran said salinity levels in the Shatt al-Arab have risen sharply, changing its classification “from a freshwater river to a marine river.”

He said water salinity in the Shersh area of Qurna has reached about 3,000 parts per million, triple the maximum level allowed for human consumption under Iraqi and international standards.

Badran said the rising salinity is caused by seawater pushing inland beneath freshwater layers and mixing with them as the flow reverses. He noted that the problem dates back to the early 1990s but has intensified in recent years.

He said the Ministry of Water Resources warned in 2019 that pollution in the Tigris River was rising due to lower water releases and the discharge of large amounts of untreated sewage.

According to Badran, salinity now reaches about 30,000 parts per million in the Faw area, 15,000 parts per million in central Basra, and 3,000 parts per million at the meeting point of the Tigris and Euphrates in Qurna.

He also cited other causes of pollution, including untreated industrial and agricultural wastewater dumped into Iraq’s rivers, old or damaged sewage pipelines, and population growth that has exceeded the capacity of existing water treatment systems.

In recent days, residents of the Shersh area in Qurna staged protests demanding action to address the salinity crisis. They said the problem has spread disease, destroyed crops, and killed large numbers of livestock.

In October, Basra Provincial Council member Nawfal al-Mansouri told The New Region that the saltwater crisis stems from “poor management by the Ministry of Water Resources,” accusing the ministry of “failing to provide quick and effective solutions.” 

Protesters urged Basra’s local government to speed up the operation of a major purification and desalination plant in Qurna, which has a capacity of 6,000 cubic meters per hour.

They said completing the project would provide safe water for drinking and farming and help contain the worsening environmental damage.