Water in Mesopotamia
A water budget is a way to analyze the water situation of a community, state, country,
small watershed, or even an entire river system like the Colorado or Mississippi.
To analyze the water budget of a river, geographers use four key terms:
Inflow: water in a river at the point where the river enters a country
Addition: water added to a river (by precipitation and snowmelt) within a country
Withdrawal: water taken out of a river for use within a country
Outflow: water in a river at the point where the river leaves a country
These four terms are related in the following way:
INFLOW + ADDITION – WITHDRAWAL = OUTFLOW
This formula is generally used for an individual river. We can also simplify matters
by speaking of inflow, addition, withdrawal, and outflow for several rivers combined.
Do the calculations and write the results on the blanks in this summary table
(the fourth column shows what happens if every country finishes its current plans):
Turkey
Inflow
Addition
Withdrawal
Outflow
Syria
Inflow
Addition
Withdrawal
Outflow
Euphrates
River
Combined
Rivers
Predicted Flow
(Combined)
in 2040
0
+23
-2
21
0
+15
-2
___
0
+38
-4
___
0
+38
-26
___
21
+1
-5
17
13
+0
-2
___
___
+1
__
___
___
+1
-18
-5
0
0
0
+33
-4
29
0
__
-4
___
0
+33
-8
___
17
0
+0
-12
5
___
___
+1
-26
___
___
___
___
-38
___
___
___
+1
-47
___
5
___
___
___
Iran
Inflow
Addition
Withdrawal
Outflow
Iraq
Inflow from Syria
Inflow from Iran
Addition
Withdrawal
Outflow
Tigris
River
0
0
Persian Gulf
Inflow
Data source: adapted from Kliot 1994.
If your calculations ended with a negative number for inflow into the Persian Gulf
in 2040, you can see why people in this region are worried. The simple fact is that
There is not enough water in the rivers to satisfy all the demands. As a result,
none of these countries will be able to do all of the projects they have planned.
That fact sets the stage for a major international discussion about water rights.
©2012 P Gersmehl Teachers may copy for use in their classrooms. Contact [email protected] regarding permission for any other use.