Baghdad Residents Forced to Leave Homes Amid Severe Water Shortage

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – For more than a month, central Baghdad has been grappling with a worsening water crisis, with entire neighborhoods relying on wells that produce water unfit for human consumption. Tanker-delivered water has become the only temporary substitute, but for many residents, it is neither sustainable nor affordable.

In the Euphrates neighborhood, near Baghdad International Airport, residents say daily life has become unbearable.

“We dig wells, but instead of clean water, people end up buying it. The situation is dire. A barrel of water costs us between 20,000 and 25,000 Iraqi Dinars," one resident told Kurdistan24.

Another resident described how families have been coping: “There is no clean water. Everyone relies on wells.”

The shortage has dragged on for weeks. “There has been no water for two months. We buy drinking water and use well water for washing and cleaning, but there is no tap water,” said another local.

With no long-term solution in sight, many families have been forced to abandon their homes. “People in many neighborhoods have left the area to stay with relatives because of the water shortage. Some are even considering digging a single well for every three houses,” one resident explained.

What began as a shortage in parts of Baghdad has now reached the heart of the capital, where neighborhoods like the Euphrates are experiencing an exodus of residents. Locals warn that unless urgent measures are taken, more families will have no choice but to leave, turning the water crisis into a humanitarian emergency in the capital itself.