Figures reveal scale of disaster 4 months after Turkey began withholding Euphrates
"We are in the midst of a catastrophe," so the Director of Tishreen Dam describes the crisis that Turkey caused by reducing the Euphrates water four months ago, which caused the river's water to recede and decline to catastrophic levels.
Four months ago, Turkey began to block the water of the Euphrates from Syria and Iraq, which caused a catastrophe which casts a shadow over the lives of millions of people who live on the banks of the river and depend on it for many aspects of life.
Since the 27th of last January, the Turkish occupation state has only been releasing 200 cubic meters of water per second, while the agreement reached by Syria with Turkey stipulates that the water supply from the Euphrates water to Syria should not be less than 500 cubic meters per second.
Continuous and sharp decline.. shocking numbers!
Figures obtained by Hawar news agency reveal the magnitude of the great disaster that Turkey caused by blocking the Euphrates water, as the percentage of decline in the Euphrates Dam Lake, the largest lake in Syria, reached nearly 6 meters.
The Euphrates Dam Lake, one of the three dams installed on the Euphrates, loses one centimeter of its stockpile daily.
The Deputy Director of Tishreen Dam, Jihad Bayram, says that the water supply from the Euphrates has decreased to a quarter of the agreed amount, as about 200 cubic meters of water reach them per second since late January.
Jihad Bayram explained that the decline in the water level in the lakes "caused an increase in the hours of rationing of electricity, as the turbines in Tishreen Dam have been being operated for only 8 hours."
With regard to the situation in the Euphrates Dam Lake, Jihad Bayram says that they had to continue generating electricity and drawing water through irrigation canals, which led to a sharp decline in the level of the Euphrates Dam Lake.
The natural level of the Euphrates Dam Lake is 304 above sea level, and now the level has decreased to 298.50.
In Tishreen Dam, the natural level reaches 325.50 above sea level, and it has now decreased to 321.31. Furthermore, in the event that a decline of one more meter is registered, the dam will be out of service.
Only two of the 6 turbines in Tishreen Dam are being operated, each turbine normally has a capacity of 105 megawatts, but due to the low water level, the two turbines are operating at a capacity of only 70 megawatts.
Jihad Bayram says that "if the dam operates with full turbines for two consecutive days, we will reach the dead level and it will stop working completely, but now the level is being preserved as much as possible in order not to reach the dead level."
'Negative effects ... Water security is at risk'
Engineer Hammoud Al-Hamadin says that "drinking water is the most important pillar for which dams were built, as dams work to store water to achieve water security for citizens, but currently we are losing this security in several ways; the first aspect is that the lakes decrease vertically and horizontally has reduced the water reservoir of the lakes, while the lack of this reservoir and the weakness of flow as a result of the dam being stopped for a continuous 16-hour period lead to an increase in pollution due to the waste and industry and sewage effluents that are dumped into the riverbed.
Al-Hamadin warns of an environment conducive to diseases, toxins and pollution in light of the spread of the Corona pandemic, which will threaten the lives of 5 million Syrians.
Water pollution is not the only problem, as the difficulty of obtaining water is essentially another problem, as a result of the water purification and drawing stations getting out-of-service.
'Priority is to drinking water'
Engineer Hammoud Al-Hamadin asserts that water is more necessary than electricity, because water is not replaceable, and in order to maintain sufficient water in the lakes to secure drinking and irrigation water, the dam management has felt the necessity to change rationing programs whenever the level reaches certain levels.
Al-Hamadin does not rule out reducing the hours of generating electricity with the continued decline of the Euphrates. He says "We are in the mid of the disaster, we are not warning about its occurrence."
Agriculture and the awaited disaster!
During the past months, the region has suffered from an unprecedented drought, which has caused great damage to the winter agricultural season, as several areas of north and east Syria witnessed the failure of the season and the lack of rainfed crop growing.
With regard to irrigated crops, thousands of hectares of agricultural land depend on the Euphrates River, but the river's decline has created many difficulties for farmers in north and east Syria in terms of how to obtain water to irrigate agricultural crops.
However, as the water of the Euphrates continues to recede, many farmers have refrained from summer planting for fear of lack of water, electricity and incurring losses which will put the region in front of a food crisis in the coming days.
Farmers and a large segment of the population began to lose their daily livelihood, for the devastating effects of withholding the Euphrates, the lifeline in north and east Syria, to be clear.
Water supply does not cover the necessary needs ... depletion is of stockpile!!
Al-Hamadin says, "The percentage of water resources is 200 cubic meters per second, but consumption is 25 meters for drinking water, 75 cubic meters for evaporation achieving no benefit, and from 140 to 160 cubic meters for irrigation."
Consequently, the consumption is from 240 to 260 cubic meters per second, and this leads to depletion in the lakes stockpile because the water supply from Turkey does not cover the necessary needs.
The dams' administration is forced to generate electricity to secure water, Hammoud Al-Hamadin said in this context, "We have the pumping and filtering stations, but where do we have electricity to secure water? Here we started to deplete the stockpile of the lakes to secure electricity."
'Damage reaches to livestock'
With farmers' reluctance to farm, lack of water and electricity, and water and food security being affected, damage began to appear on the livestock sector, as the areas of north and east Syria are currently witnessing an insane rise in the prices of fodder, in return, a drastic decline in the prices of the livestock.
The breeder is now selling his livestock at the lowest prices because it has become more expensive than its price, according to Hammoud Al-Hamadin, who goes on to say, "We are losing livestock, food security and summer agriculture, while basically we are struggling to maintain water security."
ANHA
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LRi1cNtkQPE" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Figures reveal scale of disaster 4 months after Turkey began withholding Euphrates
Four months ago, Turkey began to block the water of the Euphrates from Syria and Iraq, which caused a catastrophe which casts a shadow over the lives of millions of people who live on the banks of the river and depend on it for many aspects of life.
Since the 27th of last January, the Turkish occupation state has only been releasing 200 cubic meters of water per second, while the agreement reached by Syria with Turkey stipulates that the water supply from the Euphrates water to Syria should not be less than 500 cubic meters per second.
Continuous and sharp decline.. shocking numbers!
Figures obtained by Hawar news agency reveal the magnitude of the great disaster that Turkey caused by blocking the Euphrates water, as the percentage of decline in the Euphrates Dam Lake, the largest lake in Syria, reached nearly 6 meters.
The Euphrates Dam Lake, one of the three dams installed on the Euphrates, loses one centimeter of its stockpile daily.
The Deputy Director of Tishreen Dam, Jihad Bayram, says that the water supply from the Euphrates has decreased to a quarter of the agreed amount, as about 200 cubic meters of water reach them per second since late January.
Jihad Bayram explained that the decline in the water level in the lakes "caused an increase in the hours of rationing of electricity, as the turbines in Tishreen Dam have been being operated for only 8 hours."
With regard to the situation in the Euphrates Dam Lake, Jihad Bayram says that they had to continue generating electricity and drawing water through irrigation canals, which led to a sharp decline in the level of the Euphrates Dam Lake.
The natural level of the Euphrates Dam Lake is 304 above sea level, and now the level has decreased to 298.50.
In Tishreen Dam, the natural level reaches 325.50 above sea level, and it has now decreased to 321.31. Furthermore, in the event that a decline of one more meter is registered, the dam will be out of service.
Only two of the 6 turbines in Tishreen Dam are being operated, each turbine normally has a capacity of 105 megawatts, but due to the low water level, the two turbines are operating at a capacity of only 70 megawatts.
Jihad Bayram says that "if the dam operates with full turbines for two consecutive days, we will reach the dead level and it will stop working completely, but now the level is being preserved as much as possible in order not to reach the dead level."
'Negative effects ... Water security is at risk'
Engineer Hammoud Al-Hamadin says that "drinking water is the most important pillar for which dams were built, as dams work to store water to achieve water security for citizens, but currently we are losing this security in several ways; the first aspect is that the lakes decrease vertically and horizontally has reduced the water reservoir of the lakes, while the lack of this reservoir and the weakness of flow as a result of the dam being stopped for a continuous 16-hour period lead to an increase in pollution due to the waste and industry and sewage effluents that are dumped into the riverbed.
Al-Hamadin warns of an environment conducive to diseases, toxins and pollution in light of the spread of the Corona pandemic, which will threaten the lives of 5 million Syrians.
Water pollution is not the only problem, as the difficulty of obtaining water is essentially another problem, as a result of the water purification and drawing stations getting out-of-service.
'Priority is to drinking water'
Engineer Hammoud Al-Hamadin asserts that water is more necessary than electricity, because water is not replaceable, and in order to maintain sufficient water in the lakes to secure drinking and irrigation water, the dam management has felt the necessity to change rationing programs whenever the level reaches certain levels.
Al-Hamadin does not rule out reducing the hours of generating electricity with the continued decline of the Euphrates. He says "We are in the mid of the disaster, we are not warning about its occurrence."
Agriculture and the awaited disaster!
During the past months, the region has suffered from an unprecedented drought, which has caused great damage to the winter agricultural season, as several areas of north and east Syria witnessed the failure of the season and the lack of rainfed crop growing.
With regard to irrigated crops, thousands of hectares of agricultural land depend on the Euphrates River, but the river's decline has created many difficulties for farmers in north and east Syria in terms of how to obtain water to irrigate agricultural crops.
However, as the water of the Euphrates continues to recede, many farmers have refrained from summer planting for fear of lack of water, electricity and incurring losses which will put the region in front of a food crisis in the coming days.
Farmers and a large segment of the population began to lose their daily livelihood, for the devastating effects of withholding the Euphrates, the lifeline in north and east Syria, to be clear.
Water supply does not cover the necessary needs ... depletion is of stockpile!!
Al-Hamadin says, "The percentage of water resources is 200 cubic meters per second, but consumption is 25 meters for drinking water, 75 cubic meters for evaporation achieving no benefit, and from 140 to 160 cubic meters for irrigation."
Consequently, the consumption is from 240 to 260 cubic meters per second, and this leads to depletion in the lakes stockpile because the water supply from Turkey does not cover the necessary needs.
The dams' administration is forced to generate electricity to secure water, Hammoud Al-Hamadin said in this context, "We have the pumping and filtering stations, but where do we have electricity to secure water? Here we started to deplete the stockpile of the lakes to secure electricity."
'Damage reaches to livestock'
With farmers' reluctance to farm, lack of water and electricity, and water and food security being affected, damage began to appear on the livestock sector, as the areas of north and east Syria are currently witnessing an insane rise in the prices of fodder, in return, a drastic decline in the prices of the livestock.
The breeder is now selling his livestock at the lowest prices because it has become more expensive than its price, according to Hammoud Al-Hamadin, who goes on to say, "We are losing livestock, food security and summer agriculture, while basically we are struggling to maintain water security."
ANHA
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LRi1cNtkQPE" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
