In southern Iraq’s Basra province, local water sources have reached their highest salinity in nearly nine decades — climbing to 29,000 ppm, almost equivalent to seawater. What was once a freshwater lifeline for millions has turned into a saline tide, eradicating crops, livestock, livelihoods, and hope.
Families like Umm Ali’s, who once relied on river water for drinking and farming, now watch their animals die and their soil turn barren. In the Mesopotamian marshes, residents report skin irritation, failed harvests, and migration to urban centers. Basra’s story is not isolated — it signals what climate stress and shrinking freshwater inflows could bring to river deltas worldwide.
The Upstream Problem
The Tigris and Euphrates rivers, originating in Turkey, now carry record-low flows due to drought, rising temperatures, and upstream dams. As discharge declines, seawater from the Arabian Gulf pushes inland, infiltrating rivers and aquifers.
This reverse flow has raised total dissolved solids (TDS) from typical levels of around 2,600 ppm a year ago to over 25,000 ppm — turning irrigation corrosive, killing freshwater fish, and rendering water unsafe. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), any water above 1,000 ppm is considered saline for human consumption. Basra’s current figures are nearly 30 times that threshold.
A Crisis Measured in Lives, Not Just Numbers
About one in four women in Basra depends on agriculture. As salinity rises, fields turn unworkable, and incomes vanish. The humanitarian impact is profound: according to The UN’s International Organization for Migration, over 170,000 Iraqis were already displaced by climate-related water crises by October last year.
Experts argue that Iraq must “pursue desalination projects in the Shatt al-Arab.” This is no longer optional — it is the only path to survival in regions where natural rivers can no longer provide life.
Technology Meets Urgency
Government is responding. Iraq’s Ministry of Water Resources announced a 1 million m³/day desalination project for Basra — a major step toward reliable supply, supported by international partners. Similar efforts are reshaping water planning in Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Vietnam, where reverse osmosis (RO) technology now anchors water resilience.
Yet scale alone is not enough. The challenge is maintaining efficiency and durability under extreme salinity.
At HJC, we engineer RO membranes for precisely such conditions.
The HJC SW Series combines a reinforced polyamide layer with an advanced anti-fouling flat-sheet design — ensuring consistent salt rejection, mechanical strength, and extended service life even at TDS levels around 35,000 ppm.
From municipal desalination to industrial recovery plants, these membranes turn saline crises into sustainable water systems.
Water and Humanity, Intertwined
Basra’s story is more than just an environmental report; it exposes a critical global vulnerability.
Across the Middle East and South Asia, salinity intrusion is becoming a defining environmental challenge. From Iran’s Khuzestan plains to India’s coastal Gujarat, prolonged droughts, unsustainable water extraction, and poor infrastructure maintenance are transforming freshwater systems into saline basins.
This water crisis reveals a truth:when natural water systems fail, it is culture, livelihood, and memory that suffer.The answer lies not only in technology but in foresight — in systems designed to adapt, recover, and endure.