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Back To: Environment
The Euphrates (al
Furat)
The Euphrates has an overall length of 2,780km (1,730miles), and is
the longest river in the Middle East. 40% of is length is in Turkey,
25% in Syria and 35% in Iraq. It flows in a southwesterly direction
across Turkey, crosses
Syria in the east and continues across
Iraq to the Arabian Gulf. It is fed by snowmelt from
the mountains of Anatolia and by the waters of the Khabur and the
Balikh River which join it in eastern Syria. It joins with the
Tigris in southern Iraq to form the
Shatt al Arab waterway. Before merging with the Tigris
at Basra, the Euphrates divides into many channels and feeds the
Iraqi
marshlands. Like the Tigris, it is only navigable by very
shallow-draft boats.
The upper Euphrates flows rapidly through deep canyons and narrow
gorges in Anatolia. In 1990, Turkey built the Ataturk Dam, one of 21
dams planned on the Euphrates that will provide plenty of water for
irrigation upstream; at the same time this huge diversion of water
in Turkey has negative implications for Syria and Iraq which also
rely on the river. The reservoir behind the Ataturk dam requires
occasional one-month interruptions in the flow of the river for
refilling.
The waters of the middle Euphrates are used to irrigate the plains
of Syria, which depends on the Euphrates for over half its water
needs. In 1973 al Thawra Dam was completed in northern Syria. The
dam is 70m high, and created the 640 sq km Assad Reservoir which
provides electrical power. The Tishrin Dam was completed in 2002.
Syria has also dammed its two tributaries. Such projects are
controversial, yet they fulfill the demands for water in the
semi-arid country.
As it flows along the eastern edge of the
Syrian Desert and into Iraq, the river loses speed, and Iraq
receives a river with less water and high salt content. In northern
Iraq the river is studded with islands, some with remains of old
castles. Agriculture in Iraq, as in Syria, depends on the supply of
water. Irregularities in flow make Iraqi agriculture vulnerable to
drought. A dam at Haditha in west central Iraq was completed in 1986
to provide a water reserve for the country. Iraq has/had seven dams
in operation.
The river’s average annual flow in Iraq is 32 billion cubic meters,
and like the Tigris, its flow is very irregular: 53% of its waters
flow during the three months from April to June.
Iraq, Syria and Turkey’s hydroelectric and irrigation projects were
undertaken without any agreements of understanding between the three
countries. There is a general understanding that requires the
country upstream to not appropriate more than 50% of the flow
measured at the point of entry to the country located downstream.
Other detrimental effects on the river include pollution from the
dumping of untreated wastewater and aging and poorly maintained
water and wastewater infrastructures. These are especially visible
in Iraq which has seen over two decades of war.
The Euphrates and Tigris made possible the Mesopotamian civilization
dating to 9000BC. Early farming communities introduced irrigation
and built permanent dwellings near the river. Ancient cities located
on or near the riverside include Babylon, Mari, Kish, Uruk, Ur and
Eridu. For several centuries, the Euphrates formed the eastern limit
of Roman control and defined the western regions of the Persian
Empire. Major cities today include Raqqa and Deir al Zor in Syria
and Karbala and Najaf in Iraq.
References: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition;
European Institute for Research on Mediterranean and Euro-Arab
Cooperation
http://www.medea.be/
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