WATER RESOURCES MINISTER DISCUSSES MAJOR WATER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002930 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/28/2018 TAGS: ECON PBTS SENV TNGD TPHY EAGR SUBJECT: WATER RESOURCES MINISTER DISCUSSES MAJOR WATER ISSUES IN IRAQ REF: A. BAGHDAD 2800 ¶B. BAGHDAD 2899 Classified By: Classified by EMIN John Desrocher for reasons 1.4 b and d ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Transboundary water negotiations, repair of the Mosul Dam, salinity issues in Basra province, and improvement of irrigation drainage are the major water issues facing Iraq, Minister of Water Resources Dr. Latif Rashid told USG personnel in late October. END SUMMARY Three Primary Water Issues Identified by Minister Rashid -------------- ¶2. (C) ESTH Officer and ITAO senior consultant for water met first with Deputy Minister Salar Bakr Sami and then with Minister of Water Resources Dr. Latif Rashid in late October. Minister Rashid identified three major water issues in Iraq, including repair of the Mosul Dam and construction of a cut-off wall to mitigate structural dam weakness; Basra province salinity issues and construction of new water source pipelines and a dam structure to prevent Arabian Gulf backflow into the Shatt Al Arab; and improvement of irrigation drainage. Rashid said GOI infrastructure funds to address these three water issues were included in the government's 2010 budget request, but other infrastructure projects would need strong technical justifications to obtain additional funding. Minister Ready to Tackle Transboundary Water Issues with Turkey and Iran -------------- ¶3. (C) Minister Rashid said he was ready to come to an agreement with Turkey on water issues, but added that a final resolution of any water negotiations would be many years down the road. DM Salar provided emboffs with a copy of the Iraq-Turkey Memorandum of Understanding in the Field of Water that was signed October 15 (ref A). The MOU calls for designating National Coordinators on water in each country, as well as joint efforts in assessing water resources and data sharing. (The MOU stipulates that all data will be shared with Syria.) The MOU does not mandate a minimum water release rate by Turkey. ¶4. (C) According to Minister Rashid, he and DM Salar were headed to Iran to discuss two issues: the formation of a bilateral committee to discuss technical water issues; and a request that Iran release a minimum of 200 cm/s from the Karun River, which flows into the Tigris River in Iraq. USG personnel showed the Minister several unclassified photographs taken near the Iranian border that appear to show that Iran had constructed a sand berm that blocked another river (the Karkh) from flowing into Iraq and caused pooling of water on the Iranian side of the border. (See ref B for background of water flows from Iran.) Minister Rashid expressed appreciation for the information, saying it was timely given his planned meeting in Iran. (According to published reports, the GOI appears to have been successful in one objective during their meeting with Iran: formation of the bilateral committee.) Iraq May Award 30-yr Strategic Water Plan Contract to Russian Firm -------------- ¶5. (C) Minister Rashid said the GOI invited 24 companies to provide a proposal for preparing a 30-yr Strategic Water Plan for Iraq that would, inter alia, identify potential ground water resources, assess surface water issues, and make recommendations for improvements. DM Salar said the plan would include two types of Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping, one depicting current irrigable land (estimated at one million acres),and another depicting Q(estimated at one million acres),and another depicting potential irrigable land areas (estimated at seven million acres). Minister Rashid said only three companies - from the United Kingdom, Italy, and Russia - had responded to the government tender, and that the Russians had the best proposal. He added that Russia had provided good support to the Iraqi agricultural sector in the past, pointing to the 1980's construction of the Main Outfall Drain. (The Main Outfall Drain collects water drainage from irrigation canals scattered throughout the central Iraq and transfers the waters to the Shatt Al Arab downstream of Basra.) DM Salar stated that once awarded, the project would be completed within 45 months. Mosul Dam Cut Off Wall and North, South, and East Jazeera Projects Close to Award BAGHDAD 00002930 002 OF 002 -------------- ¶6. (C) DM Salar said a German company and an Italian company are being considered for the Mosul Dam project, which has a first-year (2010) budget allocation of some $900 million. Salar stated that the Ministry would welcome Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) assistance in reviewing these proposals. (Note: ACE is sending three experts to Iraq in early December to assist with the technical review. End note) According to Salar, the project will cost $3 billion and take six years to construct. ¶7. (C ) Salar also discussed the North, South, and East Jazeera irrigation projects near the Mosul Dam in northern Iraq. According to Salar, the MoWR has signed a contract for 200 new lineal pivot irrigation systems for the North Jazeera project, and funding to buy 200 more systems was included in the 2010 GOI budget. Salar said the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) would update the 1982 plan for the South Jazeera irrigation project, looking at whether to reduce the project's size and whether there is enough water in the area to continue the project. According to Salar, the MoWR also signed a contract in October with an Iraqi-Turkish joint venture to implement the East Jazeera project and change it from a rain-fed project to an irrigation project. Rashid and Salar May Move On After Elections -------------- --- ¶8. (C) Minister Rashid stated that he would not seek to continue as the MoWR minister after January's election, but would pursue new challenges after heading the Ministry of Water Resources for the last six years. DM Salar said he planned to retire after the elections, and talked about returning to Kurdistan and helping &his8 people. (Salar is from Erbil.) He added that he does not leave his ministry's building often due to security concerns and actually lived on the premises. HILL