Erbil governor: KRG will build dams to end water shortage crisis

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The governor of Erbil confirmed on Saturday that the regional government is to build dams as part of 14 different projects to prevent a further water crisis.

Governor Omid Khoshnaw said in a press conference in the Choman district that one of the projects includes the construction of a number of dams. The Kurdistan Regional Government’s Council of Ministers is already on board, he said while laying the foundation stone for a project in the Choman district. The council will meet in the following days to further discuss the water issue.

Khoshnaw stressed that water should not be wasted. The Council of Ministers has formed a special committee to deal with the unfolding water crisis. 

The governor said the committee will meet soon to discuss further decisions on how to protect water sources and build more dams.

He added that a “scientific conference will be held” to study the issue more deeply, and that recommendations would be approved for a work program.

Khoshnaw had announced in early July that more than 200 water wells in the province had stopped working, calling on residents to limit consumption and prevent water wastage in light of the drought in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq in general.