ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraqi Environment Minister Srwa Abdulwahid on Monday said “all legal and punitive measures” will be taken against those polluting the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, adding that Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has ordered relevant ministries to set a clear timeframe for addressing the pollution.

“The pollution of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is significant,” Abdulwahid said, adding that “the prime minister has directed the relevant ministries and provinces to set a clear timeframe for addressing the water pollution.”

In June, the Green Iraq Observatory warned that aquatic life in the Euphrates River is “not suitable” for human consumption and that the river remains heavily polluted.

The monitor attributed the heavy pollution to several factors, such as hospital waste being discharged directly into the river, invasive aquatic plants, and other growth that have slowed its flow and reduced oxygen levels, harming fish and other aquatic life.

On Wednesday, Omar Abdul Latif, a member of the Green Iraq Observatory told The New Region that hospitals in the public and private sectors and the federal health, agriculture, industry, and electricity ministries are responsible for some of the waste in the rivers.

The river also receives large amounts of agricultural wastewater containing chemical fertilizers and salts, as well as sewage water. Some chemical substances in the river have exceeded permitted levels.

“Meetings regarding the water pollution issue have been ongoing for more than a year, and everyone knows the causes of the pollution. Today, we need to develop solutions instead of continuing to discuss the causes,” Abdulwahid added.