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Chapter 3 Tigris River Basin 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 3 - TIGRIS RIVER BASIN Tigris River Basin The Tigris at Baghad, Iraq, 2010. Source: Larisa Epatko. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Tigris River is the second largest river In addition to Turkey’s use of the Tigris River for in Western Asia. Its basin is shared by four the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), Iraq countries: Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. Besides has built several dams and diversion projects contributions from precipitation that originates on the river, centring on the Tharthar Canal in the Armenian Highlands, the Tigris is fed by between the Euphrates and Tigris. Water from numerous tributaries that rise in the Zagros the Tigris is mainly used for agriculture, with Mountains in Iran, Iraq and Turkey. irrigation projects in all riparian countries. The Tigris has a higher water yield than the Water quality in the basin is primarily threatened Euphrates River. Historically, the natural annual by rising salinity rates resulting from intensive flow of the Tigris at the Iraqi-Syrian-Turkish irrigated agriculture and high evaporation rates. border was around 21 BCM. In recent years, Apart from historic agreements that jointly Tigris flow volumes have been affected by address the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, water large water development projects in Iraq and resources in the Tigris Basin have not received Turkey. The flow volume records for Kut show a much attention at the negotiation table. There is significant negative trend. Water supplies to the no basin-wide agreement in place, and the Tigris Mesopotamian Marshlands have also dwindled River has been the subject of only one bilateral over the past 40 years. agreement. 100 INVENTORY OF SHARED WATER RESOURCES IN WESTERN ASIA - PART I BASIN FACTS RIPARIAN COUNTRIES Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey BASIN AREA SHARES Iran 19%, Iraq 56.1%, Syria 0.4%, Turkey 24.5% BASIN AREA 221,000 km2 RIVER LENGTH 1,800 km MEAN ANNUAL FLOW VOLUME 26 BCM (at Kut) MAIN DAMS 14 (max. storage capacity 116.5 BCM) PROJECTED IRRIGATED AREA (IN BASIN) ~4.6 million ha PROJECTED IRRIGATED AREA (OUTSIDE OF BASIN) 150,000 ha BASIN POPULATION 23.4 million MAIN AGREEMENTS 1946 – The Treaty of Friendship and Good Neighbourly Relations is the first legal instrument of cooperation on water between the two riparian countries. Among IRAQ - TURKEY others, it addresses flow regulation on the Tigris and Euphrates and their tributaries and the monitoring of flow data. The parties also commit to the principle of prior notification with regards to water infrastructure projects. 1975 – Agreement on the use of shared watercourses in which the signatory IRAN - IRAQ parties agree on the division of a number of shared Tigris tributaries. 2002 – Agreement on the establishment of a pumping station on the Tigris River in IRAQ - SYRIA Syria, specifying project area and volume of water extracted. 2009 – The Turkish-Syrian Strategic Cooperation Council Agreement covers water SYRIA - TURKEY issues and can be regarded as the Turkish approval of Syria’s pumping project on the Tigris River. KEY CONCERNS WATER QUANTITY Water use for irrigation and hydropower production is constantly increasing, with numerous operational and planned projects along the river’s main course and its tributaries placing pressure on flow regimes in the basin. Periodic droughts affect water supply and may impact water allocation to different sectors in the future. There is no basin-wide agreement and no common approach or consensus on how to regard the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers (i.e whether the two rivers should be considered part of a single watercourse system or as separate basins). While the development of new infrastructure along the river course has in general not sparked disputes among basin countries, the Ilisu Dam Project in Turkey remains controversial. Iran’s damming of the Wand River has also caused tensions between Iran and Iraq. WATER QUALITY Water quality is relatively good in the upper part of the basin, but salinity levels increase in the Iraqi part of the basin. Rising pollution from domestic and industrial sources is a cause for concern. BIODIVERSITY The Mesopotamian Marshes have suffered severe damage as a result of upstream damming projects in the 20th century, reducing the marshes to 14% of their original size. More than half of the original area of this unique freshwater system has recently been rehabilitated in a joint effort by the Iraqi Government and international organizations. 101 Sinop Kastamonu Samsun CHAPTER 3 - TIGRIS RIVER BASIN Coruh Trabzon Rize Ordu Giresun AmasyaOVERVIEW MAP Cankiri Corum 40°E Kars 45°E 50°E Georgia Armenia Azerbaijan Yerevan A z e r b a i j a n !H !H Baku Turkey Turkmenbashi Yozgat 40°N A r m e n i a 40°N Erzincan | Karasu Erzurum Iran Syria Sivas Lebanon Iraq Kirsehir T u r k e y Murat Jordan Kuwait Keban $ Murat Nevsehir Saudi Arabia Medik Lake Van Thoma EuphratesElazig Van $ $ Dicle (planned) Bitlis Malatya $ Kralkizi $ $ Karakaya Nigde Batman Botan Tabriz | Batman Caspian Sea Diyarbakir Ilisu (planned) $ Atatürk Sirnak Lake $ Tigris Suyu Orumiyeh Urumiyeh Sanliurfa Mardin Zakho Gaziantep Birecik Hezil¸ Adana $¸ Feesh Khabour Greater Zab Mersin Hancagiz $ $Karkamis ¸ Dahuk $ ¸ Bekhme (planned) Sajur Jarablus Hasakah East Kayacik $ ¸¸ ¸ $ $ ¸ Sari $ $ Mosul Sajur Jallab ¸ Hasakah West Hasakah Antakya $ ¸ Tishreen $ | Lake Assad Bassel Al Asad ¸ Arbil Mosul Greater Zab Aleppo Raqqah Balikh ¸ $ Diwandtareh $ Euphrates ¸ Tehran $ Dukan Baath ¸ !H TabQa $ Sulaymaniyah Semnan Dibis Lesser Zab Tanjeru $ I r a n | Kirkuk Nicosia Deir ez Zor Khabour Qeshlagh Ammochostos Hama Derbendikhan Sanandaj ¸$ Gheshlagh Gavoshan Larnaka 35°N I r a q Tigris 35°N $ Gaveh Lemesos Adh Sirwan aim Qurahtu Hamadan Adhaim$ Qom Homs Tharthar Wadi Diyala ¸ ¸ Lake Qarasou Tharthar Al Bukamal $ | ¸ Hussaybah $ Samarra Wand Hemrin ¸ S y r i a Haditha Samarra $ Kermanshah $ Arak Diyala Hit $ Ilam ¸ Sidon Tharthar Baaqubah Damascus Wadi Howron ¸ Ramadi !H Saymareh Ramadi $ Fallujah Baghdad $ |!H¸ Gangir *#¸*#¸ Lake ¸*# Habbaniyeh ¸ Sezer *# Fallujah ¸ Tigris Karkheh *# Kanjan Cham Haifa Tib Bakhtiari Wadi al Ghudor $ Changooleh *#¸ Hindiyah Dez Esfahan *#¸*#¸ ¸ $ Lake Kut Tigris Dez Nazareth Razzaza ¸ Dwairej Upper Gotvand Karbala' Hillah $ ¸$ Karkheh Nader (under construction) Main Outfall Kut Shah $ J o r d a n Wadi al Ubayyid $ Karun Shahrekord Tel Aviv-Yafo Drain An Najaf $ Ramla Amarah $ Yazd Ariha !H Karkheh Karun-3 Amman Ad Diwaniyah Masjed Karun-1 $ Soleyman Karun-4 Vanak Gaza City $ Hamidiyeh Nabk Wadi Hiab Samawah ¸ Beersheba | KhersahLordegan El'Arish Euphrates Qurnah Karun Ahvaz Ar'ar Marun Nasiriyah Shatt Saudi Arabia | al Arab Basrah Khorramshahr 30°N 30°N Tigris River Basin K u w a i t !!!!!!! ! !!!!! ! International boundary River ! !!!!! ! GAP project !!!!!!! !H Persian Gulf !H Capital Intermittent river, wadi Wetland Kuwait City Inventory of Shared Water Ansab Selected city, town Canal, irrigation tunnel $ Dam Abu Zenima Resources in Western Asia Bushehr Basin boundary Freshwater lake ¸ Monitoring station Disclaimer Saltwater lake | Climate station The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or El Tur µ Spring acceptance by the United Nations. 0 50 100 200 300 400 © UN-ESCWA - BGR Beirut 2013 km 40°E 45°E 50°E 102 Ha'il Al Ghurdaqah Buraydah Ad Damman JiddAlAl-Muharraq Manamah Hafs Ar RifaSitrah Sinop Kastamonu Samsun Coruh INVENTORY OF SHARED WATER RESOURCES IN WESTERN ASIA - PART I Trabzon Rize Ordu Giresun Amasya Cankiri Corum 40°E Kars 45°E 50°E Georgia Armenia Azerbaijan Yerevan A z e r b a i j a n !H !H Baku Turkey Turkmenbashi Yozgat 40°N A r m e n i a 40°N Erzincan | Karasu Erzurum Iran Syria Sivas Lebanon Iraq Kirsehir T u r k e y Murat Jordan Kuwait Keban $ Murat Nevsehir Saudi Arabia Medik Lake Van Thoma EuphratesElazig Van $ $ Dicle (planned) Bitlis Malatya $ Kralkizi $ $ Karakaya Nigde Batman Botan Tabriz | Batman Caspian Sea Diyarbakir Ilisu (planned) $ Atatürk Sirnak Lake $ Tigris Suyu Orumiyeh Urumiyeh Sanliurfa Mardin Zakho Gaziantep Birecik Hezil¸ Adana $¸ Feesh Khabour Greater Zab Mersin Hancagiz $ $Karkamis ¸ Dahuk $ ¸ Bekhme (planned) Sajur Jarablus Hasakah East Kayacik $ ¸¸ ¸ $ $ ¸ Sari $ $ Mosul Sajur Jallab ¸ Hasakah West Hasakah Antakya $ ¸ Tishreen $ | Lake Assad Bassel Al Asad ¸ Arbil Mosul Greater Zab Aleppo Raqqah Balikh ¸ $ Diwandtareh $ Euphrates ¸ Tehran $ Dukan Baath ¸ !H TabQa $ Sulaymaniyah Semnan Dibis Lesser Zab Tanjeru $ I r a n | Kirkuk Nicosia Deir ez Zor Khabour Qeshlagh Ammochostos Hama Derbendikhan Sanandaj ¸$ Gheshlagh Gavoshan Larnaka 35°N I r a q Tigris 35°N $ Gaveh Lemesos Adhaim Sirwan Qurahtu Hamadan Adhaim$ Qom Homs Tharthar Wadi Diyala ¸ ¸ Lake Qarasou Tharthar Al Bukamal $ | ¸ Hussaybah $ Samarra Wand Hemrin ¸ S y r i a Haditha Samarra $ Kermanshah $ Arak Diyala Hit $ Ilam ¸ Sidon Tharthar Baaqubah Damascus Wadi Howron ¸ Ramadi !H Saymareh Ramadi $ Fallujah Baghdad $ |!H¸ Gangir *#¸*#¸ Lake ¸*# Habbaniyeh ¸ Sezer *# Fallujah ¸ Tigris Karkheh *# Kanjan Cham Haifa Tib Bakhtiari Wadi al Ghudor $ Changooleh *#¸ Hindiyah Dez Esfahan *#¸*#¸ ¸ $ Lake Kut Tigris Dez Nazareth Razzaza ¸ Dwairej Upper Gotvand Karbala' Hillah $ ¸$ Karkheh Nader (under construction) Main Outfall Kut Shah $ J o r d a n Wadi al Ubayyid
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