Water resources management in Syria is confronted with numerous challenges. First, all of the country's major rivers are shared with neighboring countries, and Syria depends to a large extent on the inflow of water from

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

through the

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

and its tributaries. Second, high population growth and urbanisation increase the pressure on water resources, resulting in localized groundwater depletion and pollution, for example in the

Ghouta Ghouta ( / ALA-LC: ''Ḡūṭat Dimašq'') is a countryside area in southwestern Syria that surrounds the city of Damascus along its eastern and southern rim. Name Ghouta is an Arabic term (''ghuta'') for 'garden'. Geography The Ghouta is an ...

near

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. Third, there is no legal framework for

integrated water resources management Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. These resources can be either freshwater from natural sources, or water produced artificia ...

. Finally, the institutions in charge of water resources management are weak, being both highly centralized and fragmented between sectors, and they often lack the power to enforce regulations. Water resources policies have been focused on the construction of dams, the development of

irrigated Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has be ...

agriculture and occasional interbasin transfers, such as a pipeline to supply drinking water to

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

from the Euphrates. There are 165 dams in Syria with a total storage capacity of 19.6 km³. Demand management through metering, higher tariffs, more efficient irrigation technologies and the reduction of

non-revenue water Non-revenue water (NRW) is water that has been produced and is "lost" before it reaches the customer. Losses can be real losses (through leaks, sometimes also referred to as physical losses) or apparent losses (for example through theft or Water me ...

in drinking water supply has received less emphasis than supply management. The government implements a large program for the construction of

wastewater treatment Wastewater treatment is a process which removes and eliminates contaminants from wastewater. It thus converts it into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle. Once back in the water cycle, the effluent creates an acceptable impact on ...

plants including the use of

reclaimed water Water reclamation is the process of converting Sewage, municipal wastewater or sewage and Industrial wastewater treatment, industrial wastewater into water that can be reused for a variety of purposes. It is also called wastewater reuse, water re ...

for irrigation. Water is regulated by the Ministry of Water Resources.

Water resources base

Surface water

The most important rivers of Syria are the

, the

Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...

, the Orontes and the

Yarmouk River The Yarmuk River (, ; Greek: Ἱερομύκης, ; or ''Heromicas''; sometimes spelled Yarmouk) is the largest tributary of the Jordan River. It runs in Jordan, Syria and Israel, and drains much of the Hauran plateau. Its main tributaries are ...

. All these rivers are shared between Syria and its neighbors. The Euphrates, by far the most important river in Syria, flows from Turkey through Syria to Iraq. In Syria, it is joined by the Khabur and the

Balikh The Balikh River () is a perennial river that originates in the spring of Ain al-Arous near Tell Abyad in the Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests ecoregion. It flows due south and joins the Euphrates at the modern city ...

rivers, which both originate in the Syro-Turkish border region. The Tigris River originates in the eastern

Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek language, Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain range, mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal reg ...

in Turkey and forms the border between Syria and Turkey on a small mountainous stretch of the river. Its mean annual flow is 18 km³/year, but very little can be used by Syria due to its remote location. The Orontes River, which flows from

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

through Syria to Turkey, has an average flow of 0.4 km³/year (13 m³/s). The water resources of the Yarmouk River, which is shared with

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and flows into the

Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan (, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn''; , ''Nəhar hayYardēn''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Sharieat'' (), is a endorheic river in the Levant that flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and drains to the Dead ...

, average some 0.4 km³/year (14 m³/s). Among Syria's smaller rivers is the

Barada The Barada ( / ALA-LC: ''Baradā'') is the main river of Damascus, the capital city of Syria. Etymology The word "Barada" is thought to be derived from the word ''barid'', which means "cold" in Semitic languages. The ancient Greek name (), mean ...

River, which flows through Damascus and is one of the few notable rivers that flows entirely inside Syrian territory. The

Quweiq The Queiq (Modern Standard Arabic: , ''Quwayq'', ; northern Syrian Arabic: ''ʾWēʾ'', ), with many variant spellings, it was known to the Greeks in antiquity as the Belus in (, ''Bēlos''), the Chalos and also known in English as the Alep ...

River flows from Turkey to Syria and the city of Aleppo. The Nahr al-Kabir al-Shamali (Northern Great River) rises in Turkey and flows through the northern coastal plain and

Latakia Latakia (; ; Syrian Arabic, Syrian pronunciation: ) is the principal port city of Syria and capital city of the Latakia Governorate located on the Mediterranean coast. Historically, it has also been known as Laodicea in Syria or Laodicea ad Mar ...

. The Nahr al-Kabir al-Janoubi (Southern Great River) flows through the southern coastal plain and, on its lower stretch, forms the border between Syria and Lebanon. It has an average flow of 0.3 km³/year (8 m³/s). Both rivers form part of what is called the "coastal basin", which is actually a group of small river basins in Syria that drain to the Mediterranean.

International agreements on transboundary rivers

While Syria has signed written agreements with its neighbors on transboundary rivers, none of these agreements is an international treaty that would have to be ratified by the Parliaments of the respective countries. The agreements are rather non-binding memorandums of understanding.Syria Toda
Parting the Waters
by John Dagge, January 2010, accessed on January 18, 2010 Euphrates River. In 1989 Iraq and Syria signed a water-sharing agreement under which a maximum of 42% (210 m³/s) of the surface water inflow through the Euphrates granted by Turkey unilaterally to the downstream riparians (500 m³/s) was considered as Syria's share. There is no final agreement regarding the Syrian water rights on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. However, since 2005 a group of scholars and retired officials from Syria, Iraq and Turkey initiated

Track II diplomacy Track II diplomacy is the practice of non-state actors using conflict resolution tactics (such as workshops and conversations) to "owerthe anger or tension or fear that exists" between conflicting groups. These "non-governmental, informal and un ...

under the Euphrates-Tigris Initiative for Cooperation. It aims to promote cooperation among the three countries, including through a joint data inventory. In March 2008 the three riparian countries formed a joint "water institute" based in Turkey that will "work toward the solution of water-related problems among the three".Today's Zama
Turkey, Iraq, Syria to initiate water talks
12 March 2000, accessed on October 31, 2009 Orontes River. There is an agreement between Lebanon and Syria over the Orontes signed in 1994, which stipulates that Lebanon receives 80 million cubic meters of water per year "if the river flow inside Lebanon is 400 million cubic meters per year or more". This means that the risk of drought is borne by Lebanon. No new wells were allowed to be drilled in the Lebanese portion of the Orontes basin since the agreement had been signed. There is apparently no such agreement over the Orontes between Syria and Turkey. However, in March 2008 Syria and Turkey reportedly agreed to jointly build a dam on the river, which suggests that some kind of agreement has been made. Yarmouk River. In 1987 Syria and Jordan signed an agreement about the sharing of the river's water and have subsequently built a dam, the Unity Dam, on the border between the two countries.

Groundwater

Historical groundwater recharge has been estimated at 4 km³/year, out of which 2 km³/year was estimated to discharge through springs into rivers (average 1977–2001). After deducting this "overlap" between surface water and groundwater net renewable groundwater resources were estimated at 2 km³/year. Groundwater in Syria is heavily

overexploited Overexploitation, also called overharvesting or ecological overshoot, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to ...

(see below).

Overall estimates

Estimates of water resources in Syria vary greatly, which is due to different assumptions about inflows from and outflows to other countries, different methodologies to account for overlaps between surface water and groundwater, and poor data. For example, one report estimates "internal" renewable water resources at 7.1 km³/year (long-term average 1977–2001), taking into account overlaps between data between surface water and groundwater.

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition ...

br>FAO Water Report 43 (2009)
accessed on October 31, 2009 However,

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

estimates the renewable surface and groundwater resources at 10 km³/year.The Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs/

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

United Nations Development Program The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries Poverty reduction, eliminate poverty and achieve Sustainable development, sustainable economic growth and Human development (economics), hu ...

br> Strategy and National Environmental Action Plan for Syria
2003, accessed on October 31, 2009

estimates "total actual renewable water resources" at 16.8 km³/year. The same report estimates "actual external renewable surface water resources" at 17.3 km³/year, including 15.8 km³ of water "entering" with the Euphrates, as unilaterally proposed by Turkey, 0.3 km³ of water "entering" with the Asi-Orontes, as agreed with Lebanon, and 1.3 km³/year from the Tigris. No specific estimates are provided for outflows of surface water to neighboring countries. If 58% of the flow of the Euphrates entering Syria (9.16 km³/year) are considered Iraq's share as stipulated in the 1989 agreement, actual water resources available to Syria would be much lower than stated above. Finally, official data are questionable because better hydro-geological investigations of groundwater are needed to obtain more reliable data.Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (Germany) & Ministry of Irrigation (Syria). Initial Assessment Study of Water Sector Management in the Syrian Arab Republic, Final Report. Damascus, September 2004

Water use

Total annual water withdrawal was estimated at 19.4 km³/year in 2008–2009, including 2.4 km³/year taken by depleting groundwater and surface water reservoirs. It was estimated at 16.7 km³/year in 2003, 88% of which was for agricultural purposes.

br>FAO Aquastat Country Profile
2008, accessed on October 31, 2009

Overexploitation of groundwater

In some basins, such as that of the Barada around Damascus, total water use exceeds availability of renewable water resources, resulting in

overexploitation Overexploitation, also called overharvesting or ecological overshoot, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to ...

of groundwater. In the Mleita plain around the town of

Al-Nabk An-Nabek or Al-Nabek () is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Rif Dimashq and the capital of the Qalamoun. It is located north of Damascus and south of Homs and has an altitude of . According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics ...

in the Kalamoon Mountains north of Damascus, for example, the water table declined from 35 meter in 1984 to below 250 meter in 2009. Agriculture all but disappeared and the fertile valley was turned into a dusty wasteland. Other areas of heavy groundwater overexploitation are the area around Mhardeh in

Hama Governorate Hama Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥamā'') is one of the 14 Governorates of Syria, governorates of Syria. It is situated in western-central Syria, bordering Idlib Governorate, Idlib and Aleppo Governorates to the north, Raqqa Gove ...

, Khan Shaykhun in

Idlib Governorate Idlib Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Idlib'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay province to the north, Aleppo Governorate to the east, Hama Governorate to the sou ...

and the Damascus

where groundwater levels dropped by more than 6 meters per year in some areas between 1993 and 2000. Overexploitation of groundwater has contributed to a decline in the flow of the Khabur River which has ceased to flow during summer since 1999. The number of wells in Syria has been estimated to have increased from 135,089 in 1999 to over 213,335 in 2007, according to the National Agricultural Policy Centre (NAPC). The lands irrigated by groundwater increased from 652,000ha in 1985 to 1.4m ha in 2005. Rural electrification, diesel subsidies and subsidized loans for the drilling and equipment of wells contributed to the boom in groundwater irrigation.Syria Toda
Mining the Deep
by Francesca de Châtel, January 2010, accessed on January 18, 2010

Water pollution

According to the Syrian National Environmental Action Plan of 2003, surface and groundwater are contaminated in many areas with domestic and industrial wastewater. For example, in the Barada River concentrations of

biological oxygen demand Biochemical oxygen demand (also known as BOD or biological oxygen demand) is an analytical parameter representing the amount of dissolved oxygen (DO) consumed by aerobic bacteria growing on the organic material present in a water sample at a s ...

(BOD) and

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula, formula . A Binary compounds of hydrogen, stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pu ...

exceeded Syrian Standards for 86% of collected samples between 1995 and 2000. Well and spring water in the basin is bacteriologically contaminated because of sewage discharge. The concentrations of nitrates in some wells in the Ghouta near Damascus exceeded the limits set by the drinking water standards. Because of discharges by tanneries concentrations of Chromium III reach 10 mg/liter in Al Daiyani River and exceed the allowable limits ten-fold in the wells of Al Zablatini area, all located in the Barada basin. On the Orontes River analyses of water samples for ammonia, suspended solids and BOD indicated that concentrations exceeded the allowable limits, particularly in the lower part of the river. In the upper part, water quality is acceptable. On the Quweiq River flowing through Aleppo concentrations of BOD, ammonia and heavy metals exceeded allowable limits. In the coastal region wells used for drinking purposes are contaminated with high concentrations of

nitrate Nitrate is a polyatomic ion with the chemical formula . salt (chemistry), Salts containing this ion are called nitrates. Nitrates are common components of fertilizers and explosives. Almost all inorganic nitrates are solubility, soluble in wa ...

s and ammonia because of sewage discharge and use of fertilizers. Water salinity is also high in some wells because of seawater intrusion into the fresh groundwater aquifers.

Dams

There are 165 dams in Syria with a total storage capacity of 19.6 km³. By far the largest dam is the

Tabqa Dam The Tabqa Dam (, ; ), or al-Thawra Dam as it is also named (, ; , literally "Revolution Dam"), most commonly known as Euphrates Dam (; ; ), is an earthen dam on the Euphrates, located upstream from the city of Raqqa in Raqqa Governorate, Syria ...

, located near

Raqqa Raqqa (, also , Kurdish language, Kurdish: ''Reqa'') is a city in Syria on the North bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine city and b ...

on the Euphrates and forming

Lake Assad Lake Assad (, ''Buhayrat al-Assad'') is a reservoir on the Euphrates in Raqqa Governorate, Syria. It was created in 1974 when construction of the Tabqa Dam was completed. Lake Assad is Syria's largest lake, with a maximum capacity of and a maxi ...

. Its purpose is production of hydropower, irrigation and storage of water for drinking water for Aleppo. Medium-size dams include the

Al-Rastan Al-Rastan () is the third largest city in the Homs Governorate, located north of its administrative capital Homs and from Hama. Nearby localities include Talbiseh and al-Ghantu to the south, al-Zaafaraniyah and al-Mashrafah to the southeast, Mur ...

(0.2 km³), the

Lake Homs Dam A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

(Qattinah) (0.2 km³), the Mouhardeh (0.07 km³) and the Taldo (0.02 km³). In 2007 there were 49 dams on the Orontes River with a total storage capacity of 1.5 km³, or more than three times the average annual flow of the river. There were 42 dams on the Yarmouk with a total storage capacity of 0.3 km³. Twenty-one dams are located in the coastal area with a total storage capacity of 0.6 km³.

Legal and institutional framework

A comprehensive regulatory framework for integrated water resources management does not exist in Syria. Over 140 laws dealing with water have been passed since 1924. Prohibitions on well drilling and

groundwater pollution Groundwater pollution (also called groundwater contamination) occurs when pollutants are released to the ground and make their way into groundwater. This type of water pollution can also occur naturally due to the presence of a minor and unwant ...

have been passed, but there are no clear mechanisms for their enforcement. The Syrian water sector is both highly centralized and fragmented between sector institutions that have overlapping functions and responsibilities. A Council of General Commission for Water Resource Management is in charge of integrating water policies between various Ministries. According to another source there is a Higher Water Committee, which is presided by the

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

for service affairs. According to a report on Syria's water resources, "one of the consequences of the fragmentation and lack of coordination within the water sector is that key water resource data are not exchanged between the different institutions, which in turn hampers effective policy making." Ministries with responsibilities related to water resources management include: *The Ministry of Water Resources (MOWR) is a key actor in water resource management. It is responsible for water resources management and for the provision of all irrigation water in the country, including sewage effluent. MOI is also in charge of controlling and monitoring water quality through the Water Safety Committee. Through its 14 water and sanitation directorates (Establishments) it is also in charge of providing water supply and sanitation services. *The Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform (MAAR) is responsible for the rational use of water for agricultural purposes, for minimizing water consumption and encouraging the use of modern irrigation techniques. *The Ministry of Local Administration and Environment (MLAE) is responsible for dealing with all main environmental issues. In addition, it has the task to plan and implement all governmental activities at regional level. MLAE is responsible for the protection of the environment by issuing the required standards and monitoring the quality of water for all uses.

Water resources assessment and planning

From 2002 to 2004, the Ministry of Irrigation, with the support of Dutch development cooperation, prepared an integrated water resources management plan for the coastal basins. The project included detailed water resources assessment studies, the analysis and selection of strategies and an action plan developed in consultation with various government stakeholders. From 2002 onwards, a Water Resources Information Center in the Ministry of Irrigation has been established with the assistance of

JICA The Japan International Cooperation Agency (), also known as JICA'','' is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social gro ...

. The center established Geographical Information Systems for the Barada- Awaj Basin around Damascus and the coastal basins, including data on groundwater, surface water and water quality. Syria plans to irrigate 25,000ha in the Northeast by pumping water from the Tigris.

Water shortages during the Syrian Civil War

During the Wadi Barada offensive, there were periods of

water shortages Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity. One is ''physical.'' The other is ''economic water scarcity''. Physic ...

in Damascus due to rebels' control of

Ain al-Fijah Ain al-Fijah (, also spelled Ayn al-Fijeh and Ein Al Fejeh) is a small town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, located 25 kilometers northwest of Damascus. Nearby localities include Deir Muqaran to the west, ...

in late 2016, until it was controlled by the Syrian army in early 2017. In 2020, the Turkish authorities started to cut water supplies from the Euphrates, which caused huge water shortages in

Al-Hasakah Governorate Al-Hasakah Governorate (; ; , also known as , ''Gozarto'') is one of the fourteen Governorates of Syria, governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is located in the far north-east corner of Syria and distinguished by its fertile lands, plentiful water ...

. Those schemes might have been used to affect the Kurdish-controlled areas in north Syria.

References

External links

Focus topic water:Out of its depths?
'' Syria Today'', January 2010 {{Irrigation by country Water in Syria

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...