Euphrates River struggles to provide for its residents

The sharp drop in the water level of the Euphrates River has shocked the residents of Tabqa canton. A humanitarian disaster has begun to take shape with the shutdown of drinking water pumping stations, which have been cut off for days, amidst the inability of emergency solutions to address the expanding crisis.

The Euphrates River is experiencing a sharp drop in water levels as the Turkish occupation state continues to prevent the flow of river water into Syrian and Iraqi territory. The Energy Authority in North and East Syria has warned of a worsening Euphrates water crisis after the level of the Euphrates Dam dropped to 6 meters.

In a paradox that sums up the magnitude of the tragedy, the Twaihina camp is suffering from thirst despite being located directly on the banks of the Euphrates River. There, women and girls from the camp gathered around a water pipe that had begun to flow again after a four-day interruption.

In the camp located north of the city of Tabqa, the tragedy is most clearly evident. Ahmed Al-Jassim, a resident, said, "We are living through difficult times. The water is cut off for long days, and when it returns, it comes back polluted and unfit for drinking. We are forced to buy water, and a single five-barrel tank costs 25,000 Syrian pounds. Those who don't have the money carry water from the lake by hand, despite its pollution."

Ruslan Al-Ahmad described their daily situation, saying, "We buy bottles of mineral water to drink, but when the water arrives, it is muddy and full of impurities. We boil it, add chlorine, hoping it will be safe. Yet, we have been afflicted with kidney disease and kidney stones."

For his part, Matar Al-Khaled pointed out something even more dire: "The water is contaminated with leeches and worms, and some people have been taken to the Tabqa National Hospital because of them. The water has been cut off for three days, and today it was only restored for two hours. Even the public bathrooms haven't been cleaned in days. The water we bring from the beach has a foul odor. We filter it with cloth and boil it, but we can't stand it anymore."

Alarm Bell

The city of Al-Jarniyeh has been largely affected by the disaster after the Al-Tanirah station stopped operating due to the artesian wells going out of service, leading to a water cutoff for the city and its 114 villages. This comes amidst the Al-Jarniyeh Water Unit's intensive efforts to implement emergency solutions to provide for the residents.

The co-chair of the Al-Jarniyeh Water Unit, Ahmed Jamal, confirmed that what is happening has not been recorded since the construction of the Euphrates Dam in the 1980s. The decline has revealed lands that had been submerged for decades, and some residents have begun plowing them.

Jamal warned, saying: Continued decline threatens a complete water shortage, which would be a disaster for humans, animals, and plants. We are calling on humanitarian organizations to support us with larger pumps, but the radical solution is to increase water supplies from Turkey, otherwise the danger is rapidly approaching.

The Disaster Spreads

The drop in the Euphrates River's water level is not limited to Tabqa, but has extended to Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, Aleppo and its countryside, and even into Iraq, threatening a regional disaster along the river's banks.

Ali al-Taha, the co-chair of the Tabqa Municipalities Union, confirmed that most of the drinking water pumps have gone out of service, including the Ayed, al-Jarniyah, al-Karin, al-Jarfat, and al-Bu Asi pumps, while the rest are threatened with shutdown within days.

The Tabqa canton includes 30 water pumps, all of which are in danger. Al-Taha explained, "We are trying to replace the vertical pumps with horizontal ones to meet a small portion of the demand. We are also working to remove encroachments on the networks and distribute water by tanker to some villages, but these remain emergency solutions that are insufficient in the face of the magnitude of the crisis."

At the end of his remarks, the co-chair of the Tabqa canton's municipalities union indicated that the drop in water levels has led to the accumulation of bacteria and sediment, and a decline in water quality. And its purity, in light of the infiltration wells being out of service and the reliance on direct pumping from the river, which has increased pollution rates and affected the operation of the Euphrates Dam, threatening to cut off power to all pumping stations.

T/S

ANHA