Iraq: Mosul Residents Suffer Shortage of Piped Water
May 13, 2008
[Text of report by Dubai-based Iraqi private Al-Sharqiyah TV on 7 May]
Mosul, capital of the Ninawa Governorate, especially the right side of the city [preceding five words as heard], is suffering from a shortage of piped water, because the purification stations stopped working due to the fact that pumps cannot pump water from the Tigris River, as its water level has dropped.
A source in the governorate said that the cut-off of water supplies on the right side of the city [preceding five words as heard] might last for a few days, noting that this has something to do with bringing about an increase in the water level of the river.
For his part, an official source at the Water Resources Directorate in Mosul said that the drop in the water level of the Tigris River is due to the dry season that Iraq experienced this year and the shortage of rainfall and snowfall in the northern region last winter, which decreased the number of the tributaries feeding the river.
Local residents in Mosul said that they observed a drop in the water level of the Tigris River, which passes through the centre of the city, to levels which some of them termed as scary, especially after the emergence of islands in the middle of the river. The residents were not used to seeing such a drop in the water level of the river in spring.
Originally published by Al-Sharqiyah TV, Dubai, in Arabic 1310 7 May 08.
Source / redOrbit
The Rag Blog
What a thing to happen to the Iraqis, now. And being out of water for a few days is certainly survivable, but the situation seems very bad for the agriculture, and that’ll surely be a very serious problem.
It’s a sad situation, but it’s some relief to think that this serious water shortage isn’t something the USA is guilty of or for; like, say, by having some “special” cover ops to close up dams on the river (if there are any dams on the Tigris).
The problem seems to be due to natural causes, albeit I suppose it’s more greatly due to climate change and if we really are the main cause of it, then I guess the shortage of rains and snows in Iraq isn’t totally due to natural cause. But the cause of climate change we mostly read and hear about is not a fact, it’s not been really proven, being only and still a [theory], and there’s more than one of them. There’s also what I’m calling (due to not knowing what it’s called by the experts) the sun activity theory which says it’s not only Earth that’s experiencing climate change, but also other planets, and due to some unusual sun activity.
If readers of this haven’t yet heard or read of the latter theory and it’s of interest, then I believe all links for articles I read about this theory in were found at http://www.prisonplanet.com and/or http://www.infowars.com . The articles should be easily found by simply Googling the website or using the engine at the website for “climate change” and/or “global warming”, while perhaps adding ‘sun’ for an additional search term. And they were a mix of externally linked pieces, and some of those being accessed through links in articles written by AJN (Alex Jones Network) writers.
Anyway, I sure hope the U.S.A., i.e., the Bush-Cheney cabal, isn’t responsible; such as by preventing the opening up (more anyway) of dams on the river, f.e. And there apparently are many dams on that river.
Quote: “…
Management and water quality
The Tigris is heavily dammed in Iraq and Turkey, to provide water for irrigating the arid and semi-desert regions bordering the river valley. Damming has also been important for averting floods in Iraq, to which the Tigris has historically been notoriously prone following snowmelt in the Turkish mountains around April. …”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tigris_River
Your article also says that the water to the right side of the city will, or rather ‘might’, be cut off for a few days, and I suppose the left and right sides are in terms of or based on the river. If true, then I recently read in (I believe) an article by Patrick Cockburn that one side is Shi’ite and/or Kuridish while the other is mostly Sunni, or Arab Iraqi, and the two sides have been feuding over whether or not Mosul will become part of an independent Kurdish area or state in the north, or remain with Iraq or with Iraq’s national government; something like that anyway.
So, and if the right side is the Arab one, then I wonder if this part of the population will be provided with water during the days that their part of the city will (if it happens) have its water supply cut. In this case, the side wanting to be part of the independent north evidently would not have its water cut off and could perceive opportunity for denying provision of water to the right side.
Those thoughts, btw, aren’t for fearmongering, but only come to mind after what I’ve read about the animosity between the two sides in Mosul and, presently anyway, for the above reason. For me, they’re just ‘beware’ (keep eyes and ears open, stay on watch) warning thoughts, say.
Hopefully this situation won’t be too damaging for all of these Iraqis.
Mike Corbeil
Quebec, Canada