With the Syrian Ministry of Energy announcing the opening of three spillway gates in the Euphrates Dam and increasing the water discharge to 1500 m3/s for the first time in three decades, the head of the Early Warning and Preparedness Unit at the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management in Syria, Muhammad Diab, warned, in a statement to “Al-Quds Al-Arabi”, all residents near the river in the governorates of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, up to the Iraqi border, to take the highest degree of caution and stay away from areas exposed to flooding, and not to cross on temporary earthen bridges over the river, in the event of a clear rise in the water level or strong current.
Minister's warnings
Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management, Raed Al-Saleh, predicted that the level of the Euphrates River could rise by more than two meters in the coming period.
He said in tweets: “We urge civilians to immediately stay away from the river and its banks, and to immediately evacuate homes and shops near the river, especially those located in low-lying areas.”
He urged citizens to “not risk using water crossings or earthen bridges,” stressing that the ministry’s civil defense teams are fully prepared to respond to any emergency.
Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management, Raed Al-Saleh, predicted a rise in the level of the Euphrates River that could reach more than two meters in the coming period.
In a scene unseen by the residents of the Jazeera region for more than thirty years, the General Establishment for the Euphrates Dam in the Ministry of Energy opened three spillway gates in the Euphrates Dam on Sunday night - Monday morning, as a result of the rising water level, to ensure the safety and stability of the facility, after a significant increase in water inflow from Turkey.
According to a statement published by the Ministry of Energy on its official pages, the measure came as part of a plan to maintain the structural and operational safety of the dams. Engineering teams continue monitoring and operating work around the clock, ensuring the safe handling of incoming water quantities in accordance with approved technical standards.
The mobilization of the Euphrates Dam staff naturally extended to the organizational staff of the Tishrin and Kadiran dams, both before and after the Euphrates Dam, to ensure the stability of the water system.
Informed sources from the city of Raqqa revealed to Al-Quds Al-Arabi that the amount of water currently being passed through the riverbed (the bottom of the channel) towards Iraq has not been seen by the people of the region for decades. The matter is certainly due to the amount of rain that fell on the sources of the river in Turkey, and is still continuing to this day, and it was accompanied by the melting of the snow, which led to a large increase in the amount coming from Turkey until it reached about 2400 m3/s at the city of Jarabulus on the Syrian-Turkish border, after Turkey was passing less than 300 m3/s before the last winter season.
The sources explained that the level of the Tishrin Dam, before the Euphrates Dam, has reached its full capacity at 324.90 meters above sea level and its discharge towards the Euphrates Dam Lake reaches 2400 m3/s and is currently at its total discharge with its two spillway gates. As for the level of the Euphrates Lake, it has also reached the maximum storage at 303.88 meters above sea level and with a water discharge with three spillway gates to 1560 m3/s. As for the discharge of the Kadiran Dam, it is currently at 1240 m3/s.
According to the sources, with the opening of a number of drainage channels in the Euphrates Dam, the situation has been reflected positively, both in the availability of water for irrigating agricultural crops and in the end of electricity rationing, so that electricity now comes to us in the cities of Raqqa and Tabqa around the clock without any rationing.
She explained that electricity is currently being generated from only 4 turbines (rotating machines), and the other four turbines in the dam body are not being utilized because they are out of service and disabled after being sabotaged by the “Islamic State” organization and bombed by the international coalition. Their maintenance may take about a year and a half if the necessary funding is secured, because it costs about $15 million for each turbine.
She said that some farms near old, broken or damaged irrigation canals had water seeping into them and were flooded, which affected fruit trees or crops, but the damage there was limited.
Double pumping volumes
The Euphrates Dam, located on the river near the city of Tabqa, is classified as one of the largest Arab dams, and the largest in Syria with a storage capacity ranging from 11.7 to 14 billion cubic meters. With the significant increase in the quantities coming from Turkey after decades of rationing, the dam's management increased the amount of water it releases from 300 to 500 cubic meters per second in mid-April. Last Saturday, the dam's management announced raising the amount released to 800 cubic meters per second, and then on Monday announced raising it to 1500 cubic meters per second.
Both Syria and Iraq have long suffered from a decrease in their share of the Euphrates River water, due to Türkiye's construction of a series of dams on its territory, especially the "Atatürk" dam.
In previous years, the sharing of water between Syria and Turkey was regulated through a temporary protocol reached on July 17, 1987, which stipulated that the Turkish side would provide an annual rate of more than 500 m3/s at the Turkish-Syrian border on a temporary basis until an agreement was reached on the final distribution of the waters of the Euphrates River between the three countries located on its banks.
On April 17, 1989, Syria and Iraq signed an agreement stipulating that Iraq’s share of the waters of the Euphrates would be 58%, while Syria’s share would be 42%.
In a statement to Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Diab said that during the past few days, a noticeable rise in the water level of the Euphrates River has been recorded, especially in some areas close to the riverbed. Civil defense teams dealt with precautionary cases, including evacuating a number of families and their livestock in the Jarabulus area during the night hours, in order to prevent any injuries or human losses.
Diab confirmed that no human casualties were recorded, and that the interventions were primarily preventive and humanitarian in nature. As for the material losses or detailed damages, they are still under field assessment, especially in low-lying areas or those located within or near the riverbed.
He stressed that the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management confirms that its teams, in coordination with the relevant authorities, are continuously monitoring the situation, and that precautions are in place for the possibility of additional flows or a new rise in the water level.
All residents near the river, especially in the valleys, low-lying areas, and riverbeds, were advised to exercise extreme caution and stay away from areas prone to flooding.
Regarding the Syrian dams on the Euphrates River, he said that monitoring the safety of the dams and the volume of water discharge falls within the jurisdiction of the technical authorities responsible for managing the dams in the Ministry of Energy, and according to the existing coordination, the General Establishment for the Euphrates Dam takes the necessary operational measures to deal with the rise in the level, including regulating water discharge according to the available technical data.
Two additional meters of water
Diab explained that with regard to increasing the water discharge after the Euphrates Dam, the discharge was gradually raised and recently reached higher levels, with the aim of reducing the level behind the dam. The discharge reached 1500 m3/s. This measure may lead to a rise in the water level in the areas south of the dam towards Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, reaching the Iraqi border, and may exceed the current level by more than two meters. Therefore, warnings and alerts were issued to the residents in the areas near the river, and warning messages were sent to the residents in the governorates of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor.
He stressed that the civil defense teams are monitoring the situation in the areas along the river, and are on high alert to intervene when needed, especially if there are families, camps or human gatherings within the riverbed or in the low-lying areas near it.
Civil defense teams are monitoring the situation in areas along the river and are on high alert to intervene if needed.
Regarding the risks of rising water levels on the temporary and earthen bridges that were recently constructed to facilitate the movement of citizens on both sides of the Euphrates River after the destruction of the bridges that were on it during the fight against the “Islamic State” organization, Diab said that the rise in water levels and the increase in the speed of the flow may pose a danger to the temporary earthen bridges, whether in terms of erosion of their sides, partial or total submersion of them, or affecting the safety of crossing over them.
He added: “We emphasize the need to reduce their use and refrain from crossing them in the event of a clear rise in water levels or strong currents, until their safety is assessed by the competent technical authorities.”
He stressed that the primary priority of the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management is the protection of lives and property, and that the civil defense teams continue to monitor the field and coordinate with the relevant authorities, while calling on the residents to adhere to official instructions and not to circulate information not issued by the competent authorities.
