Approximately 73 percent of the Erbil Water Emergency Project has been completed, according to the Erbil governor’s office. Designed to address chronic water shortages, particularly during the summer months, the project is advancing toward its first operational phase, which is scheduled to launch in July 2025. This phase will begin supplying water to neighborhoods within the fourth, fifth, and sixth municipal zones of Erbil.
The initiative, with an estimated budget of $480 million, is expected to provide 20,000 cubic meters of water per hour—equivalent to 60 percent of Erbil’s current water demand. The remaining 40 percent will continue to be met by three existing water projects, including the Efraz network.
Engineer Hiwa Abdulrazzaq, director of the Efraz 3 project, stated that with the completion of the emergency water system, several wells currently in use across Erbil will be decommissioned. Only those neighborhoods not yet connected to the emergency project will continue to rely on wells until infrastructure coverage is complete.
Currently, the Efraz projects are responsible for supplying nearly half of Erbil’s clean water, with Efraz 3 alone delivering 175,000 cubic meters per day to around 40 neighborhoods. Despite this, the city continues to experience seasonal water shortages, which the new project aims to alleviate significantly.
The foundation for the Erbil Water Emergency Project was laid by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in September 2024, and once completed, it is expected to substantially reduce dependence on groundwater wells while enhancing long-term water security in the capital.