Al-Maliki warns of water crisis in Iraq

Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki Baghdad – Jaafar al-Nassrawi Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Monday warned of an imminent water crisis in Iraq. Al-Maliki said residents are carelessly using water which has dire consequences on the country. These remarks came after al-Maliki's meeting with the ministry of water resources urging for a clear policy on water usage in the region. A committee, which includes experts and officials from the ministry of water resources, was formed to deal with this issue. “The committee has a big responsibility ahead of them. Water is wasted, whether it is drinking water or water for household use,” he said. “This must be controlled. A new policy needs to be implemented to monitor the water usage per household. A water crisis would have a disastrous effect on the environment.” During the first Arab Water Conference on May 30, 2012 al-Maliki already warned about the crisis and called for Arab countries to unite in trying to solve the problem in their respective countries. Iraq has suffered from a steady decline in water resources, which led to a reduction in agriculture.