THE RACE TO REPAIR IRAQ ’ S MOSUL DAM
“ It ’ s going to be a little bit harder in a region that ’ s still in flux ,” said Keller . She added that fears of total collapse might not be as imminent as they seem .
“ Most of what ’ s going through the news right now is a worst case scenario ,” she said . “ It is still a possibility which everyone is trying to prevent .”
In the long run , Keller said that effective regional water resource management could prove to be the most daunting challenge . There is a significant scarcity of resources and a continued migration away from agricultural areas because of a lack of water .
“ In places of conflict you don ’ t necessarily think about that as the resource you can lose .”
Iraq is in a particularly weak position on that front , and needs to communicate with its neighbors upstream : Syria , Turkey , and Iran . Regional instability makes that a problem . Turkey ’ s current construction project of the controversial Ilisu Dam , also on the Tigris River , could also complicate matters . The project will flood the the 10,000 year-old city of Hasankeyf and displace about 70,000 people , according to analysts . It could also have unforeseen repercussions for neighboring countries .
“ There aren ’ t many countries that communicate well about water issues , even in the U . S .,” said Keller . “ In general people think that water is a right . They don ’ t think of it as a resource . You want what ’ s best for your town or state or nation . It ’ s a global problem .”
A core group of prestigious academics , who believe that Mosul Dam is under the imminent and inevitable threat of collapse , are also working to find solutions . In April , Peace Ambassadors for Iraq hosted a panel of international experts for a symposium on the topic . Aside from urging repairs , their focus has largely been on emergency evacuation procedures .
Professor Lucio Ubertini , an expert on hydrological disasters , stated that the victims of hydrological disasters are “ typically the victims of inadequacy .”
Ubertini and others at the symposium recommended that local insight be tapped as a resource to create what would be “ a highly complex engineering project ” to map out buildings and surrounding infrastructure needed to save as many lives as possible if the dam does go .
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