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The Irrigation Project Management in the Climate Change Prospects: A Case Study of Ramadi District
2025-09-15
Assistant Instructor Mohammed Rahim Mohammed
Centre of Upper Euphrates for Research and sustainable development, Anbar University
The solution for the drought in the context of climate change, with increasing temperatures and decreasing rainfall, is irrigation projects. On average, global temperatures increased by 0.85°C and at the study area scale about 1.5°C over a period of 36 years. In the same time, precipitation has been declining (5.1 mm) and evapotranspiration rates have risen, directly affecting agriculture on account of greater water demand. Hence local governments have concentrated on solving the water shortage that have been caused by these climate changes and moving away from traditional irrigation systems that used to drain massive amounts of Euphrates River water. This has resulted in an increase in the groundwater level up to the ground surface and an increase in water tables of drains. This led to increased salinity and a subsequent loss of soil fertility for agriculture and horticulture.
The benefits of such a project in Anbar's (brick-lined) irrigation is that it provides for better quality water further from populated areas allows, and there may be little waste of the water through seepage since sub-surface flow lines are likely. It also simplifies travel of maintenance projects, as well as the delivery of maintenance crews and problems solved. As well, it enhances the fertility of the soil and facilitates an immediate water release while scheduling irrigation times according to daily weather. The management of this resource is a priority and good agriculture with little water loss and available resources comes from management that knows the agricultural scene in all seasons and according to its people's needs for that resource throught scientific, reasonable ways. Hence the management should notice the agroecosystem in summer and winter seasons as a result of agricultural activities practiced in Ramadi District. Mismanagement of water resources has resulted in the prevalence of winter crops over summer crops, monoculture production practices, an expansion of short-duration crop grown during consecutive years, higher fodder prices and sporadic livestock prices with their low heads keeping as well as poor economic activities, the ideal methods for addressing water crises require the administration to possess water decisions and policies without harming agricultural realities or damaging the Euphrates River's water as a water share that belongs to all areas thru which the Euphrates River passes, Irrigating crops at times when temperatures drop to prevent and reduce evaporation and maintain the water discharge level for all irrigation project stations to ensure regular irrigation and reach the farthest point, The irrigation system operates three days a week for the irrigation projects, maintaining the operating hours without reducing them. However, in the event of a water shortage, the water allocation is reduced from three days a week to two days, and even to one day at most, while maintaining its discharge capacity. The decrease in water levels in the irrigation channels on their designated days is due to the operation of a single pump, which leads to water wastage and insufficient irrigation of agricultural lands with the required water. The projects are designed and regulated with three pumps for each irrigation project station. This deficiency leads to the non-irrigation of agricultural lands near the irrigation projects and also results in encroachments on the irrigation channels and problems caused by farmers, working to encourage farmers to plant summer crops that do not require large amounts of water, such as mung beans and sesame, among others, to avoid water scarcity and wastage, and to carry out regular maintenance of the projects and pumps that operate on electric power.
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