ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Erbil is set to start a major wastewater recycling project aimed at protecting groundwater and supporting agriculture, with work to begin once the tendering process is complete, an official said Sunday.
“Work on the Erbil wastewater recycling project will soon begin and is currently in the tendering process, after which work will start immediately,” Ari Ahmed, the head of Kurdistan Region’s water and sewerage directorate told Rudaw.
The $200 million project is designed to recycle Erbil province's waste water and use it for irrigating green spaces and agriculture. It is located on the Gwer-Erbil road. “It will benefit groundwater, irrigation of green spaces, and farmers' wells,” Ahmed said.
Also on Sunday, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani announced the opening of the first phase of the Rapid Water Emergency project and the wastewater recycling plant.
“Less than a year ago, we promised to solve Erbil's water shortage for the next 30 years with a $480 million investment. Today, we delivered on that promise,” Barzani wrote on X, adding that clean, 24-hour water now flows to Erbil neighborhoods under the first phase of the project.
The Erbil Rapid Water Emergency Project aims to address chronic water shortages in the city. Prime Minister Barzani laid the foundation stone for the project in September.
Water scarcity affects Erbil every year, especially in neighborhoods located east of the city.
The World Resources Institute has ranked Iraq among the 25 countries facing extreme water stress, warning that the country is consuming more than 80 percent of its available water supply and could run dry if hit by a short-term drought.
Iraq’s deepening water crisis is driven by a combination of reduced rainfall, rising temperatures, upstream dams built by Turkey and Iran, and years of mismanagement.
According to data obtained by Rudaw, rainfall across the Kurdistan Region has also dropped this year compared to last year, with the exception of Sulaimani province.
