The water of the Tigris River - one of the most famous landmarks in Iraq - is seriously contaminated. The Iraqi government recently formed a special committee headed by Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi to follow up on this subject, which it described as dangerous.
The Commission has begun to develop plans to stop this pollution, which threatens the aquatic life throughout the country.
After the Tigris was an important source of clean water, it is now polluted, like most other rivers in Iraq, even as its banks become waste dumps and a sewerage system.
Dozens of pipes and watercourses loaded with sewage, agricultural waste water and those coming from hospitals, factories and power stations are in the Tigris, and the Iraqi government has even sounded the alarm.
Prime Minister Abdul Mahdi said five million cubic meters of heavy water is being dumped daily in the Tigris River. "When the floods came recently because of the heavy rainfall, these polluted quantities were brought into the desalination plants and became unhealthy," he said.
These huge quantities of pollutants have deprived the Tigris of its natural ability to purify itself, especially during the past years, when the water level was very low, but even with the high levels this year, was unable to re-purify himself.