Key Reservoir in Northwest Syria Used by Hundreds of Farmers Has Dried Up

An important reservoir in northwestern Syria is almost completely dry for the first time, the French news agency AFP reported, citing local farmers and Syrian officials. The reservoir in Idlib province and hundreds of farmers in the area depend on it to irrigate their combined 370 acres of farmland. A few shallow pools remain in the reservoir that was formed by the Al-Duwaysat Dam when it was built in 1994. In addition to drought and low rainfall, damage to the main pipeline to the reservoir that has resulted in significant leakage has left the reservoir with almost no water. The reservoir was half full after last winter’s low rainfall, and that water was used for irrigation by farmers trying to save their crops, according to the report. It is not clear where the hundreds of families who use the reservoir are getting their drinking water. Meanwhile, The New Arab is reporting that water levels in dams in Jordan have reached critically low levels, with six of 17 dams dried up and another about two weeks away from being emptied of all its water.