Baghdad: announced the continuation of its campaigns to remove encroachments on groundwater reserves in the governorates of Salah al-Din, Baghdad, Najaf, Karbala, and Anbar, in order to preserve the strategic groundwater reserves and prevent their depletion.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the General Authority for Groundwater at the Ministry explained: “The campaign comes in implementation of the directives of Muthanna al-Tamimi, Minister of Water Resources, and is part of ongoing measures to reduce encroachments and preserve groundwater reserves, in cooperation with the Ministry’s departments in all governorates, and with the support of the security forces.”

It added: “The work included filling in (10) fish ponds and closing (5) wells that feed them on Tikrit Island, filling in (16) fish ponds and closing (14) illegally operated wells in Tarmiyah District, in addition to closing a flowing well that feeds an illegally operated fish pond in the Najaf Sea area.”

The relevant committee within the commission seized equipment used for drilling groundwater wells without proper permits on the Karbala-Najaf road and in the strategic line area. Additionally, the committee tasked with removing encroachments in Anbar carried out a campaign in the Karma district, resulting in the filling in of four fish farms that violated regulations and legal instructions regarding the exploitation of water resources.