The electronic platform “Alsumaria News” reported on Thursday morning that Maytham Ali Khudair, the Director of the General Authority for Groundwater of the Ministry, stated that “these measures come as part of efforts to preserve the country’s groundwater resources from depletion, especially given the current scarcity.” Khudair confirmed the observation of a decline in Iraq’s renewable groundwater reserves by more than two meters in the eastern region adjacent to Iran. He explained that “the extent of violations of the country’s groundwater resources is very significant due to the traditional irrigation of agricultural lands, in addition to depletion in desert areas away from oversight through the drilling of wells with depths of 80 to 90 meters, which were discovered via satellite.” Khudair emphasized the need to “take legal action against violators and file proper legal cases,” noting the continuation of team tours to monitor violations in coordination with security forces and in cooperation with local governments. He revealed that nearly 5,000 cases of violations have been activated since 2020, including 100 cases this year. He pointed out that “legal cases include fines amounting to 3 million and 300 thousand dinars, and in case of repeated violations, the offender is punished with imprisonment for 3 years.” The “Alsumaria News” website clarified that Iraq receives 18.1 million cubic meters daily, while consuming more than 19.4 million cubic meters daily, meaning that Iraq consumes 1.3 million cubic meters daily from the Euphrates without compensating for this amount.
