Conflict and climate change drive Syria's water crisis

Following extreme drought not much is left of Syria's West Lake, once an important reservoir.

Northeastern Syria is experiencing its worst drought in nearly 70 years, with rising temperatures and erratic weather exacerbated by tensions with Turkey. Daniela Sala, Bart von Laffert and Shaveen Mohammad report

By Daniela Sala & Bart von Laffert & Shaveen Mohammad

The September sun is setting over the old olive grove as Ahmad Mahmoud Alahri walks pensively from tree to tree.

The 52-year-old breaks off a piece of dry, dead wood and drops it on the dusty grey earth. "My brother and I once planted 8,000 trees here. There were not just olives, but also lemon trees and grape vines," he recalls. "When Islamic State (IS) cut off our water to make us compliant, and then 3,000 of our trees died, we thought: 'it can't get any worse'." But this year, another 3,000 trees withered and died, Alahri explains, "because we have no water."

This is despite the fact Ayid Saghir, the 1,000-inhabitant village where Alahri lives, is located just 3 kilometres from the Tabqa Dam on the Euphrates, Syria's largest river. From Alahri's olive grove, the Assad reservoir in front of the dam is visible in the distance.

Since 2020, the water level in the Syrian reservoir has dropped by six metres. The Euphrates is so low that the pumping stations supposed to supply the surrounding villages and fields can no longer reach the river water. About a third of the approximately 200 pumps along the Euphrates were affected by low water levels in 2021 and more than 5 million people in the region lack adequate access to water, according to UN data.

Olive farmer Ahmad Mahmoud Alahri has lost around 3,000 trees due to drought this year (photo: Daniela Sala/DW) — The Middle East – one of the regions worst affected by climate change: according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the 2020-2021 rainy season in Syria began two months late and ended two months earlier than usual. The FAO also found that extreme heat in April affected the harvest in many places. Then, this summer, the country suffered its worst drought in 70 years, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. "When Islamic State (IS) cut off our water to make us compliant, and then 3,000 of our trees died, we thought: 'it can't get any worse'," recalls olive farmer Ahmad Mahmoud Alahri. But this year, another 3,000 trees withered and died, simply, as Alahri explains, "because we have no water"

What is driving the water crisis?

Globally, the Middle East is among the regions worst affected by the climate crisis. The rainy season in Syria began two months late in the winter of 2020-2021, and ended two months earlier than usual, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). In addition, the FAO found that extreme heat in April affected the harvest in many places. Then, this summer, the country suffered its worst drought in 70 years, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The UN agency expects losses of at least 75% of field crops and up to 25% of irrigated crops throughout northeastern Syria.

The situation is being exacerbated by a reduction in water from the Euphrates arriving in Syria from Turkey.

"The insufficient flow of water from the Euphrates has a direct impact on the daily lives of millions of people. Drinking water is running short in at least three government districts in Syria: in Deir-ez-Zor, Raqqa and Aleppo," said Bo Viktor Nylund, representative of the UN Children's Fund UNICEF in Syria. "We urgently need a conversation at regional level to find a solution as soon as possible."

The Euphrates flows through Turkey, Syria and Iraq. On the Turkish side is the Ataturk Dam. After the dam was completed in 1987, Turkey pledged to allow an annual average of more than 500 cubic metres per second of Euphrates water to pass through to Syria. But this summer that dwindled to 215 cubic metres per second.

Turkey and Syria's water supply

Farmer Ahmad Mahmoud Alahri sees Turkey as primarily responsible for the situation. "Turkey wants to dry us out, there is no difference to IS," he said. For almost three years, Islamic State held sway in the village of Ayid Saghir, before the Kurdish-led fighting alliance Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) drove them out of the region in 2017.

Turkish Leopard tank in northern Syria (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/Xinhua) — Is Turkey deliberately withholding water? In October 2019, the Turkish army entered Syria and created a 30-kilometre "buffer zone" where the Alouk pumping station is located – ostensibly to prevent acts of Kurdish terrorism. Although it is currently in operation, there have been nearly 90 days since January 2021 when the pumping station did not run at all and more than 140 days when it operated at half capacity. Ankara blames the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) for cutting the station's power supply. Attempts to place Alouk under neutral administration have so far failed

Since then, the region has been considered the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) under the leadership of the Kurdish PYD party. Turkey accuses the PYD of being the Syrian arm of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and fights it as a terrorist organization.

Like Alahri, many people in Ayid Saghir believe that Turkey is deliberately withholding water. But that cannot be proven, said UN representative Nylund: "We see that the water has decreased a lot, but we need to analyse further why water levels are so low." The Turkish Foreign Ministry did not reply to several requests for comment.

Health and energy impacts

The lack of water is having serious consequences for more than just agriculture. According to UNICEF, poor water quality is leading to significantly more cases of diseases such as diarrhoea, especially among children. Low water levels also threaten the power supply. Around 3 million people in northeastern Syria get their electricity primarily from three hydroelectric power plants on the Euphrates River. The water crisis is even worse in the Hasakah region, some 200 kilometres east of Ayid Saghir. Hasakah, once the "breadbasket of Syria", used to produce around half of the country's grain. Today, the reservoirs north of the regional capital al-Hasakah have shrunk to large puddles where young men catch fish with their bare hands.

The city's river, the Khabour, which is supposed to supply drinking water, has dried up due to the lack of rain. All that remains for the people of al-Hasakah at the moment is the Alouk water pumping station near the Turkish border. But for the last two years the waterworks, which supply more than 460,000 people with drinking water, have only functioned intermittently.

Dispute over Alouk water plant

"The situation has been particularly tense since Turkey occupied Sere Kaniye (known in Arabic as Ras al Ain) in 2019 and took control of Alouk," said Majda Emin, deputy-mayor of the town of al-Hasakah.

In October 2019, the Turkish army entered northern Syria and created a 30-kilometre "buffer zone" where the Alouk pumping station is located – ostensibly to prevent acts of terrorism. Although it is currently in operation, there have been nearly 90 days since January this year when the pumping station did not run at all and more than 140 days when it operated at half capacity.

Mohammed Abdo and his family feel abandoned by the international community (photo: Daniela Sala/DW) — Water becoming unaffordable: "We depend on our son's salary for our family. He earns 250,000 lira (€88) a month as a driver in the military. And now we have to spend 60,000 lira (€21) on water every month – and the water is barely enough," said Mohammed Abdo, chairman of the local district council in al-Hasakah's Khashman neighbourhood. He is angry – at the municipality, at the international community, but most of all at Turkey. "If they want to fight, they should do it on the frontlines, not use water as a weapon," he said. "This is no life. They are killing us – just slowly"

Ankara blames the AANES for cutting the station's power supply. Attempts to place Alouk under neutral administration, such as by the UN, have so far failed. UNICEF also has no direct access to the waterworks, said Nylund.

The people in al-Hasakah now get their drinking water from large water tanks that are brought into the city on trucks. But the water is expensive: 1,000 litres cost around 6,000 lira, or about 2 euros ($2.25) – a lot of money in a region where the average salary is the equivalent of just €53 a month.

"We depend on our son's salary for our family. He earns 250,000 lira (€88) a month as a driver in the military. And now we have to spend 60,000 lira (€21) on water every month – and the water is barely enough," said Mohammed Abdo.

The 60-year-old lives in the Khashman neighbourhood and has been chairman of the local district council for several months. Many Khashman residents are desperate because their fields have completely dried up, Abdo says.

"We have been forgotten, no one helps us, no aid organisation – no one," he complains. Abdo is angry – at the municipality, at the international community, but most of all at Turkey. "If they want to fight, they should do it on the frontlines, not use water as a weapon," he said. "This is no life. They are killing us – just slowly."

Daniela Sala, Bart von Laffert & Shaveen Mohammad