Iraq: Shrinking Water Supplies Threaten to Put Fragile Iraq 'on the Edge'

Jul 8, 2020 | Laurie Goering, Thomson Reuters Foundation
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As lower oil prices and a coronavirus-driven downturn batter Iraq's economy, availability of safe water is eroding and could fuel greater tensions, security experts warned on Wednesday. Hospitalisations due to worsening contamination from sewage, agricultural runoff and chemical dumping are high, especially in southern Iraq, and families now reliant on bottled water may struggle to afford it as incomes dive, they said.