BAGHDAD -- Iraq's southern province of Basra was once dubbed the "Venice of the East" because of its many canals. Iraq's two rivers -- the Tigris and the Euphrates -- have nourished civilizations since antiquity.
But the region is now suffering from a water crisis so severe that once-fertile land has been turned into desert and tap water is too salty and polluted even for washing.
Upstream dams in Turkey, Syria and Iran have shrunk the rivers and their tributaries, seasonal rainfall has dropped and infrastructure has fallen into disrepair. The result is an acute lack of freshwater that has allowed a salty tide from the nearby Persian Gulf to advance north from the Shatt al-Arab waterway -- the confluence of the Tigris and the Euphrates that Basra residents depend on -- and seep into once-lush farmland.
Qassim Sabaan Ali has spent the past 15 years tending to orchards in southern Iraq, only to see them wither or die as saltwater has seeped into the once-lush soil. Ali's fig, apple and palm trees are dying off, and the water from the taps is so salty and polluted it cannot be used for cooking.
"It's an aching feeling when you see the hard work of years withering away and slipping through your fingers," Ali, who lives in the Siba district south of Basra, said by phone. "I'm left to watch the destruction and feel desperate, as I'm unable to do more than pray to God."
The water woes, along with a lingering electricity crisis in the oil-rich region, contributed to last month's violent demonstrations in Basra and other southern provinces, in which protesters attacked and burned government and political party offices, prompting security forces to open fire.
Several protesters were killed or wounded, while others were arrested.
The water crisis has affected the entire country, but Basra, at the mouth of the two rivers, has been hit the hardest. The rising salinity has shut down water purification systems.
The water in some areas contains an estimated 40,000 milligrams of total dissolved solids, a measure of salinity, compared with an acceptable level of 2,400 to 2,600, according to Alaa al-Badran, the head of the Agricultural Engineers Syndicate.
The unprecedented salinity, along with the lack of water and nearby oil operations, has eliminated 87 percent of the province's 7,700 square miles of arable land. The salinity has killed fish and cattle, and caused a dozen bird species to disappear from the area, al-Badran said.
"It's an environmental crime," al-Badran said. "If the situation continues like this in the coming two months, I believe agriculture will be totally gone."
Even those who don't directly rely on farming are wondering how much more they can take.
Hussam Aouda's family, like many others, has to purchase two metric tons of water every two days at a cost of around $26 in order to meet all their needs. That's despite the region's oil reserves, which seem to have been of little if any benefit to its long-suffering residents.
"Can anyone believe that we are now in 2018 and don't have the minimum right of each citizen, the drinking water, while we sleep and walk on huge resources?" he asked.
A Section on 08/03/2018