DAMASCUS: Technical teams at Syria’s Euphrates Dam have begun closing a spillway gate to manage water levels along the Euphrates River following a decline in water inflows from Turkiye, the Ministry of Energy has announced.
The single gate was releasing about 300 cubic meters of water per second prior to the closure.
With the gate closed, the total water discharged through the Euphrates Dam will be scaled back to about 1,400 cubic meters per second.
Officials said the operational measure was intended to gradually and safely restore water levels to their normal range along the river’s course through the provinces of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor.
Mohammad Al-Bashir, the Syrian Arab Republic’s energy minister, confirmed via a post on X that water levels along the Euphrates were already showing gradual improvement due to the technical measures implemented.
Al-Bashir added that authorities would continue to monitor conditions closely until river levels returned to normal.
In tandem with the energy sector’s actions, Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed Al-Saleh said that operations rooms remained on high alert and were working at full capacity.
Al-Saleh noted that following the closure of the gate, the levels of the Euphrates River in Deir Ezzor and Raqqa would gradually decrease.
Technical and engineering teams are conducting round-the-clock assessments to regulate water releases, according to the Ministry of Energy.
The ongoing field monitoring efforts are designed to satisfy technical requirements, protect vital water infrastructure, maintain hydrological stability along the river, and ensure the uninterrupted delivery of essential services to local residents.
