Shafaq News/ The city of Nasiriyah, the capital of Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate, is witnessing an unprecedented environmental crisis as the Euphrates River's pollution levels have soared alarmingly, an insider reported on Saturday.
Speaking to Shafaq News agency, the source warned that "the exacerbating pollution in the Euphrates River, coursing through the heart of Nasiriyah, is a ticking time bomb for the health and safety of the locals."
The source attributed this ecological concern to a lethal combination of inadequate water discharges and relentless waste dumping by government entities.
Of particular note, the Dhi Qar sewage department was identified as a chief culprit.
Defying the rising pollution catastrophe, the department continues to discharge sewage waste into the Euphrates, turning a blind eye to redirecting its waste flow towards the mainstream estuary.
The source shed light on the disproportionate funding requested for mitigation strategies. He mentioned that "the Sewage Department seeks a staggering 800 billion Iraqi dinars for the operation of specialized pumps to treat the Euphrates-bound waters. Paradoxically, a simple reorientation of sewage pipes away from the Euphrates towards the primary estuary would necessitate a mere fraction of the cost—merely a billion dinars."