University of Basrah organized an expanded specialized workshop on the water situation in Basrah entitled (Water Shortage and the Future of Shatt al-Arab) in the presence of a number of researchers and representatives of the concerned departments and the local government
The workshop aimed to shed light on the water situation in Basrah Governorate and its water shortage in quantity and quality, as well as the current and future situation of Shatt al-Arab by providing visions and effective solutions to address these problems
The workshop included presenting studies and research summaries that are considered as a road map to identify the problems and obstacles facing the water situation and find scientific solutions for them, as well as shedding light on the water situation in the governorate center and its affiliated districts, and presenting the steps taken by neighboring countries regarding their water policy
The President of Basrah University, Dr. Saad Shahin Hammadi, stated that this workshop is one of the university's activities in community service by adopting studies of the environmental and water situation from the heart of our society and the real need to find solutions to the problems at hand
Shahin added that University of Basrah signed memoranda of cooperation with Turkish universities, which have major research centers in the fields of water, to exchange experiences and information on solving the problem of the sources of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, as well as memoranda of scientific and research cooperation with Iranian universities to develop studies on the quantities of water reaching Shatt al-Arab
The workshop came out with several recommendations, including the development of an integrated management of the water situation that guarantees the governorate’s share of the water releases it deserves to push the salt, the treatment of sewage and pollutants from factories and electrical stations mixed with river water, as well as the development of special programs to educate citizens about the need to rationalize water consumption and requiring the local government to submit these recommendations to the relevant ministries for adoption
