Chapter 2 Shared Tributaries of the Euphrates River INVENTORY OF SHARED WATER RESOURCES IN WESTERN ASIA (ONLINE VERSION) How to cite UN-ESCWA and BGR (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia; Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe). 2013. Inventory of Shared Water Resources in Western Asia. Beirut. CHAPTER 2 - SHARED TRIBUTARIES OF THE EUPHRATES RIVER Shared Tributaries of the Euphrates River eXecutiVe suMMarY The Euphrates River has three main shared tributaries: the sajur and the Balikh/Jallab are shared between syria and Turkey, while the Khabour sub-basin is shared between Iraq, syria and Turkey. With an average annual discharge of 97 mcm, the sajur is the smallest of the three tributaries. Originally, the Balikh/Jallab was fed primarily by the karstic ain al arous spring, but it increasingly receives irrigation return flows from intensive agricultural projects, mainly in Turkey. The Khabour is the largest of the three shared Euphrates tributaries in terms of length and mean annual discharge. However, annual flow has decreased dramatically over recent decades from 2,120 Bcm before 1980 to 924 mcm around The sajur River in syria, 2009. source: andreas Renck. 2000, with values constantly decreasing since then. The Khabour river dries up seasonally atatürk dam reservoir to irrigate large areas of at several locations as a result of intensive land which have transformed the Jallab River irrigated agriculture in syria and Turkey. from an intermittent stream into a perennial river. In the Khabour sub-basin both riparians While the three Euphrates tributaries used to developed extensive irrigation schemes that make up around 8% of annual Euphrates flow, have transformed land use patterns and the today their contribution has dropped to 5% or natural flow regime of the river. less due to decreased flow of the Khabour. In all three sub-basins water is mainly used for There are no specific water agreements in place irrigation purposes. for any of the three shared tributaries. In the Balikh/Jallab sub-basin, the Turkish Urfa-Harran Project imports water from the sub-basin Facts riVer saJur balikh/Jallab khabour Iraq 6% syria 40% syria 38% basin area shares syria 66% Turkey 60% Turkey 62% Turkey 28% basin area 2,860 km2 13,600 km2 36,200 km2 riVer lenGth 108 km 196 km 388 km Mean annual FLOW VoluMe 98 mcm ~140-210 mcm 924 mcm Main DAMs 2 Unregulated to date 3 ProJECTED irriGated area .. ~330,000 ha ~404,000 ha 80 INVENTORY OF SHARED WATER RESOURCES IN WESTERN ASIA - PART I Shared Tributaries of the Euphrates River Keban Dam Keban Elazig $ Malatya Elazig Lake Van Van $ Diyarbakir oVerVieW MaP Bitlis Kralkizi $ 38°E 40°E 42°E $ Karakaya $ Dicle (planned) Batman$ 38°N Siirt 38°N Diyarbakir | Batman Adiyaman T u r k e y Kahramanmaras $ Sirnak $ Ilisu (planned) Tigris Urfa-Harran tunnels Atatürk Euphrates Mardin Djirdjib Zakho Birecik ¸ Gaziantep $¸ Sanliurfa Sajur Zergane $ Karkamis sub-basin Hancagiz $ Ceylanpinar ¸ Dahuk $ ¸ µ Dara Greater Zab Jarablus Ras al Ain Jagh Jagh Akcakale Sirnak Kayacik Jallab Ras Rumeli $ Sajur ¸ Khabour Afrin µ al Ain ¸ Hasakah East Mosul Sajur Ain al Arous Tell Abyad $ $ $ Hasakah West ¸ Balikh/Jallab $ Hasakah Tishreen sub-basin Mosul Antakya Aleppo Khabour $ Bassel al Assad Balikh sub-basin Lake Assad ¸ 36°N Tabqa Raqqah 36°N Quweiq $ I r a q $ Baath El Kabir Euphrates Latakia GeorgiaArmenia Orontes Azerbaijan Khabour Turkey | Deir ez Zor Iran S y r i a Syria El Kabir Lebanon Tartus Iraq Jordan El Kabir Kuwait Tripoli Saudi Arabia ¸ 0 20 40 80 120 160 ¸ km Al Bukamal Samarra Al Boukamal $ Tharthar Lake Shared TributariesQuweiq of the Euphrates River Lake Qattinah International boundary River $ Dam Quweiq Tharthar Hit $ Selected city, town Intermittent river, wadi ¸ Monitoring station Damascus Inventory of Shared Water Basin boundary Canal, irrigation tunnel | Climate station Resources in Western Asia Ar-RamadiRamadi Nabatiyet et Tahta $ Fallujah Main shared sub-basin boundary Freshwater lake Disclaimer $ The boundaries and names shown and the designations Al Qunaytirah Zone of agricultural development µ Spring used on this map do not imply officialEuphrates endorsement 5 or acceptance by the United Nations. © UN-ESCWA - BGR Beirut 2013 81 CHAPTER 2 - SHARED TRIBUTARIES OF THE EUPHRATES RIVER CONTENTS INTROdUcTION 84 saJUR 86 Hydrological characteristics 86 Water resources management 86 Water quality & environmental issues 86 BalIKH/JallaB 87 Hydrological characteristics 87 Water resources management 88 Water quality & environmental issues 88 KHaBOUR 90 Hydrological characteristics 90 Water resources management 92 Water quality & environmental issues 93 GROUNdWaTER IN THE EUPHRaTEs sUB-BasINs 94 aGREEmENTs, cOOPERaTION & OUTlOOK 95 agreements 95 cooperation 95 Outlook 95 NOTEs 96 BIBlIOGRaPHY 97 82 INVENTORY OF SHARED WATER RESOURCES IN WESTERN ASIA - PART I FiGures FIGURE 1. sketch of the mesopotamian river system 84 FIGURE 2. distribution of the sajur Basin area 86 FIGURE 3. distribution of the Balikh/Jallab Basin area 87 FIGURE 4. distribution of the Khabour Basin area 90 mean monthly flow regimes of the Ras al ain spring and Khabour FIGURE 5. 91 River at different gauging stations (pre- and post-1980) FIGURE 6. aquifers in the Jezira catchment area 94 tables TaBlE 1. mean annual flows of the sajur River 86 TaBlE 2. mean annual flows of the Balikh River 88 mean Electrical conductivity (Ec) values for ain al arous spring, TaBlE 3. 89 Jallab and Balikh Rivers for different years TaBlE 4. mean annual flows of the Khabour River in syria 91 TaBlE 5. main dams in the Khabour Basin in syria 92 83 CHAPTER 2 - SHARED TRIBUTARIES OF THE EUPHRATES RIVER Defining the Euphrates-Tigris-Shatt al Arab Basins The Euphrates-Tigris-shatt al arab river contribution to discharge, as well as water use system constitutes by far the largest surface patterns and water quality. The shared tributaries water resource in the study area. Its combined of the Euphrates River (chap.2) and the major topographic catchment covers more than shared tributaries of the Tigris River (chap. 4) are 900,000 km2 from the headwaters in the Taurus- covered in more detail in two separate chapters in zagros mountain Range to the mesopotamian order to highlight the role of these rivers and draw lowlands and the only outlet to the Persian Gulf, attention to local water issues and transboundary the shatt al arab (Fig. 1). The overall basin is also impacts. chapter 4 also provides information home to around 54 million people in Iran, Iraq, syria on water use in Iran, which does not share the and Turkey. Given its importance and in order to watercourse of the Tigris River itself but hosts adequately reflect the specific conditions as well as important tributaries within the Tigris Basin. Finally, its complex hydrology, the Inventory dedicates five the shatt al arab River is discussed together with chapters to this river system. two additional major tributaries, the Karkheh and the Karun Rivers, which discharge directly into the The Euphrates River Basin (chap. 1) and Tigris mesopotamian marshes or the shatt al arab itself, River Basin (chap. 3) each have a different dynamic and are hence neither part of the Euphrates or and set of characteristics, particularly with Tigris River basins (chap. 5). regard to their riparian countries, tributaries and Figure 1. sketch of the Mesopotamian river system TURKEY IRaN sajur balikh/Jallab Feesh khabour Greater Zab khabour lesser Zab sYRIa Baghdad diyala EUPHRATES TIGRIS RIVER RIVER IRaQ Qurnah karkheh River karun SHATT AL ARAB city Persian Gulf Tributary source: compiled by EscWa-BGR. 84 INVENTORY OF SHARED WATER RESOURCES IN WESTERN ASIA - PART I Introduction The Euphrates River Basin has three major which originates in the Urfa Heights in Turkey, tributaries: the sajur, the Balikh/Jallab and the and the southern Balikh River, which originates Khabour Rivers (see Overview map, Fig. 1). at the ain al arous spring in syria. The only right-bank tributary, the sajur, is the The Khabour River originates on the south- smallest of the three rivers in terms of length facing slopes of the Taurus mountains in Turkey and discharge. and is formed by the confluence of the Ipramiye and Güzelyat Rivers. It is the largest of the three The second tributary is the left-bank Balikh/ tributaries in terms of length and mean annual Jallab River, which can be divided into two parts: discharge. all three Euphrates tributaries form the northern, nowadays perennial Jallab River, shared basins between syria and Turkey. The sajur River in syria, 2009. source: andreas Renck. 85 CHAPTER 2 - SHARED TRIBUTARIES OF THE EUPHRATES RIVER SAJUR sajur The sajur River stems from the confluence of Figure 2. distribution of the sajur basin area two streams in Turkey, the ayfinar deresi and the Bağırsak deresi. It flows south-eastwards, entering syria at Kusek and discharging into the Euphrates about 20 km downstream of the city of Jarablus.1 This confluence is usually flooded Turkey by the Tishreen dam reservoir (see Overview syria 1,150 km2 map). 1,710 km2 The river has a total length of 108 km, of which 48 km lie in syria and 60 km in Turkey. The sajur River drainage basin covers 2,860 km2, 40% of which lies in syria and 60% in Turkey (Figure 2).2 source: compiled by EscWa-BGR. hYdroloGical characteristics diminished along the river’s course and in Hydrological data for the sajur sub-basin is summer the sajur periodically runs dry due limited. Table 1 compiles discharge estimates to intensive irrigation abstractions. syria and for different periods in Turkey and syria. The Turkey have also constructed dams on the river’s maximum discharge usually occurs river. The Kayacik dam was built on the ayfinar in February and march, while the minimum deresi as part of the southeastern anatolia falls between June and October.