ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Water levels at dams in the Kurdistan Region have significantly increased compared with the same time last year as a result of increasing rainfall over the past year.

Around six billion cubic meters of water is stored in the dams currently, up from last year’s 4.5 billion cubic meters, Rahman Khani, head of the Region’s general dam department, told The New Region on Wednesday.

“This year, 5.9 billion cubic meters of water has been stored in the Kurdistan Region. Compared to last year, the amount has increased by 1.5 billion cubic meters,” Khani said. 

The Kurdistan Region currently boasts 21 dams, including three large and 18 small and medium sized ones, with the three giant ones having a combined capacity of reserving 10 billion cubic meters of water. 

The volume in Dukan dam has increased by 950 million cubic meters, in Darbandikhan by 400 million cubic meters, and in Duhok by 25 million cubic meters, all compared to what they were last year, Khani detailed.

The dams are mainly utilized for electricity generation. Additionally, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) capitalizes on the dams for irrigation, preventing droughts, and reducing the impacts of floods.

A key focus of the KRG’s ninth cabinet is to tackle water issues. Thus, the cabinet has so far finished work at six small and medium-sized dams including Chamrga, Khins, Aquban, Dewana, and Shawger, contributing a storage capacity of 29.1 million cubic meters of water combined, according to the official.

By the end of 2024, works at two other dams - Gomaspan and Bastorra will have finished. 

Similar to the Kurdistan Region, the Iraqi government has plans to build tens of dams across the country in 2024 to tackle water scarcity, in a bid mainly to battle drought that in recent years has severely taken a toll on Iraq. 

Water scarcity is a critical issue for Iraq, exacerbated by upstream dams constructed by Turkey on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. 

These dams have significantly reduced water flow into Iraq, intensifying the country’s existing water shortages.