Failing Flows: Water Management in Southern Iraq

In July 2018 massive protests erupted in Basra city as residents demanded improvements in public services. Failings in water management were at the heart of local grievances: an outbreak of water-related illnesses was triggered by the use of polluted water from the Shatt al-Arab, Basra’s main source of water. Given the devastating outcomes of the outbreak, Basra started to heavily depend on the Bada’a Canal, the main source of freshwater for Basra. However, the deterioration of public water infrastructure has its roots in decades of armed conflict and international sanctions. Tap water has been undrinkable since the 1990s, forcing households to rely on private water vendors. Water infrastructure upgrading was a priority for state-rebuilding after 2003 but receded under the sectarian civil war. Governmental and donor plans for mega-infrastructure water projects have since stalled in the face of systemic corruption and racketeering. Compact water treatment units (CWTUs) remain the dominant purification technology, supplying 83% of treatment capacity across Basra governorate and 92% in Basra city. The efficiency of CWTUs supplying Basra city is restricted by irregular flows from the Bada’a Canal to the key conduit of the R-Zero water treatment plant. These flows are impacted by upstream dam construction, climatic variability and illegal water tapping. The operational capacity of CWTUs is also limited by under-investment in their maintenance, often reducing their working life to 10-15 years. There is a pressing policy need to diversify water sources for Basra and improve the efficiencies of treatment technologies and distribution networks. Regional efforts should focus on fair and equitable water sharing between Iraq and its riparian neighbours