Iraq's Lake Sawa Dries Up Signaling Water Shortage
2022-06-19
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1This year, for the first time in its long history, Iraq's Lake Sawa dried up.
2"This lake was known as the pearl of the south," said 35-year-old al-Aqouli, who lives in Samawa, near the lake.
3"Now it is our tragedy."
4A combination of bad ownership by local investors, government neglect and climate change has turned Lake Sawa into a salty, flat area.
5The loss of Lake Sawa is only the latest addition to Iraq's water shortage.
6Experts say it is caused by climate change.
7Iraq has had drought and record low rainfall for years.
8The importance of water is driving up competition among businessmen and farmers.
9The poorest Iraqis are affected the most by the disaster.
10The narrow stretch of farmland along the Euphrates River is surrounded by desert.
11The area was ignored by the government starting in the 1980s.
12Locals call the area surrounding Lake Sawa "atshan" - meaning "thirsty" in Arabic.
13Formed over rock, the lake has no path for water to move in or out.
14For a long time, nobody knew where the Lake's water came from.
15Locals tell stories about how the water came to be in the lake.
16It is now known that the water comes from underground through a system of holes and breaks in rock.
17Rain from nearby valleys also feeds into the lake.
18Lots of rain can cause flooding.
19The lake sits five meters above sea level.
20It is about 1.8 kilometers long.
21Laith Ali al-Obeidi is an environmental activist in southern Iraq.
22"The degradation of the water began over 10 years ago, but this summer was the first time we lost the entire wetland," he said.
23Experts said the lake has not dried up permanently.
24They say its disappearance this year is because of thousands of illegal wells.
25Businessmen in nearby factories dig the wells because they cannot get enough water.
26Some water began to come back into the lake by early June.
27That was when the harvest season ended, meaning farmers did not need as much water.
28Aoun Diab is an adviser to the Water Resources Ministry.
29He said that closing illegal wells would have helped heal Lake Sawa.
30These would directly affect the economic interests of local officials.
31The problem is not only affecting humans, but other animals as well. Lake Sawa is a complex ecosystem.
32Sawa was filled with fish that were food for different kinds of birds.
33When the lake dried up, the fish died.
34Now the birds will have to find other food.
35Lake Sawa is "a case study for climate change in Iraq," al-Obeidi said.
36"This is the future."
37I'm Caty Weaver.
1This year, for the first time in its long history, Iraq's Lake Sawa dried up. 2"This lake was known as the pearl of the south," said 35-year-old al-Aqouli, who lives in Samawa, near the lake. "Now it is our tragedy." 3A combination of bad ownership by local investors, government neglect and climate change has turned Lake Sawa into a salty, flat area. 4The loss of Lake Sawa is only the latest addition to Iraq's water shortage. Experts say it is caused by climate change. Iraq has had drought and record low rainfall for years. The importance of water is driving up competition among businessmen and farmers. The poorest Iraqis are affected the most by the disaster. 5The narrow stretch of farmland along the Euphrates River is surrounded by desert. The area was ignored by the government starting in the 1980s. 6Locals call the area surrounding Lake Sawa "atshan" - meaning "thirsty" in Arabic. 7Formed over rock, the lake has no path for water to move in or out. For a long time, nobody knew where the Lake's water came from. Locals tell stories about how the water came to be in the lake. 8It is now known that the water comes from underground through a system of holes and breaks in rock. Rain from nearby valleys also feeds into the lake. Lots of rain can cause flooding. 9The lake sits five meters above sea level. It is about 1.8 kilometers long. 10Laith Ali al-Obeidi is an environmental activist in southern Iraq. "The degradation of the water began over 10 years ago, but this summer was the first time we lost the entire wetland," he said. 11Experts said the lake has not dried up permanently. They say its disappearance this year is because of thousands of illegal wells. Businessmen in nearby factories dig the wells because they cannot get enough water. 12Some water began to come back into the lake by early June. That was when the harvest season ended, meaning farmers did not need as much water. 13Aoun Diab is an adviser to the Water Resources Ministry. He said that closing illegal wells would have helped heal Lake Sawa. These would directly affect the economic interests of local officials. 14The problem is not only affecting humans, but other animals as well. Lake Sawa is a complex ecosystem. 15Sawa was filled with fish that were food for different kinds of birds. When the lake dried up, the fish died. Now the birds will have to find other food. 16Lake Sawa is "a case study for climate change in Iraq," al-Obeidi said. "This is the future." 17I'm Caty Weaver. 18Samya Kullab reported this story for Associated Press. Matthew Caputo adapted it for VOA Learning English. 19__________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21pearl - n. someone or something that is very good or admired 22neglect - v. to fail to take care of or to give attention to someone or something 23thirst - n. an uncomfortable feeling that is caused by the need for something to drink 24degrade - v. to make the quality of something worse 25wetland - n. an area of land such as a marsh or swamp that is covered with shallow water 26ecosystem - n. everything that exists in a particular environment 27What do you think of Lake Sawa? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.