Iraq: A delegation to visit Iran for negotiating the release of water

 
INA – BAGHDAD
 
Ministry of Water Resources confirmed on Monday, the continuation of the water scarcity crisis in the Hawizeh Marsh, located between Maysan and Basra, for 8 months due to the cessation of water flow from Iran, while confirming that an Iraqi technical delegation will visit Iran soon to negotiate water release.
 
"The Hawizeh Marsh has been suffering from water scarcity for 8 months, and the Ministry of Water Resources launched expenditures from Kahla River towards the Huwaiza Marsh, but it is not enough, so the situation will continue unless the flood waters came from the Iranian side," Hatem Hamid, Director-General of the National Center for Water Resources Management, told Al-Iraqiya News, and followed by the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
 
He pointed out that "storage levels are limited due to the lack of water that has been going on for 3 years, and it is not possible to release sufficient quantities of water, and we will work to exploit the torrents coming from the Iranian rivers (Al-Tayyib and Doerij) as the torrents from Wasit and Diyala are from the Tigris,"
 
Hamid stressed that "UNESCO is aware of the scarcity of water in the Hawizeh Marsh and will not remove it from the World Heritage List because the reasons for the scarcity are not deliberate by Iraqis, but rather the lack of water received for it,"
 
"There is a plan that is currently being worked out to invest rain and torrential water, and any water will be invested and sent to the Hawizeh marsh, and we expect rain in the current month and the next four months, which will allow more water to be paid for the marsh, but in return we need Iran to cooperate to open the flow of water from Tayeb and Dureij rivers,” he included.
 
He stressed that "an Iraqi delegation is expected to visit Iran soon to negotiate the release of water again,"