ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A sudden, unexplained release of water from Iran’s western Sardasht Dam has flooded the Little Zab River in the Kurdistan Region, local officials said Monday, pushing water levels beyond those seen in spring. The unexpected flow has brought relief to farmers but raised questions about Tehran’s motives.
“Without any prior warning or notification to us, Iran has released water from the Little Zab River source,” Sparda Mohammed, director of water resources in Raparin told Rudaw.
According to Mohammed, there is no agreement or coordination with Iran on managing water flow. “We still don't know how and why Iran has been releasing this water for several days, which seems to be in their interest, as the level of release is increasing day by day.”
The Little Zab originates in the Zagros Mountains of western Iran (Rojhelat), flowing southwest through Iran before crossing into the Kurdistan Region. It then winds through northern Iraq before joining the Tigris River near the disputed province of Kirkuk.
In April, Mohammed warned the water levels in the river had dropped sharply compared to other years. “Last year, the flow rate of the Little Zab River was 130 cubic meters per second at one point, but is now less than 36 cubic meters per second,” she said at the time, blaming low rainfall, Iran’s construction of Sardasht Dam and diversion of the river’s water.
The Sardasht Dam, an embankment dam located about 13 kilometers southeast of Sardasht city in Iran’s West Azerbaijan province, has significantly affected downstream flow in recent years.
Mohammed said the current release has “completely revived” the river.
This comes at a time when some areas in eastern Kurdistan Region’s Sulaimani province are facing a water shortage.
Besides supporting agriculture and fish ponds, the Little Zab is the main water source for about 100,000 residents of Qaladze district in northern Sulaimani province. Iran has repeatedly restricted the river’s flow in the past.
Water scarcity remains a severe problem in drought-hit Iraq, which the United Nations ranks as the fifth-most vulnerable country in the world to climate change impacts like water and food insecurity. The crisis is worsened by upstream Turkish and Iranian dams on rivers flowing into Iraq, leaving the country increasingly dry; about 70 percent of its water originates outside its borders.
