Centuries after the collapse of the historic Marib Dam—a catastrophe that, according to folklore, scattered the Sabaean people, founders of the kingdom of Saba—a new dam was constructed near the remnants of the ancient site about four decades ago. The new dam was built to harness the abundant floodwaters flowing from the eastern mountains of Sana’a, the valleys of Al-Jawf, and other regions neighboring Marib. Adjacent to the new dam’s reservoir, vast agricultural lands were reclaimed, yielding a variety of vegetables, fruits, and grains, all nourished through the dam’s irrigation canals. However, over time, these canals have deteriorated due to neglect and a lack of maintenance, with many becoming clogged with debris and sand. This has resulted in additional challenges for farmers due to water scarcity and shortages, whose lands are in fields near Yemen’s largest water reservoir, leading to a significant decline in agricultural production.
In this context, Karim Al-Abbasi, a farmer in Marib, tells "Khuyut" that many of the Marib Dam's canals have deteriorated due to neglect, with sand dunes accumulating in them, as well as garbage, construction debris, and dirt building up in these canals and in the watercourse that flows from the Marib Dam to the farms in the Wadi District of Marib.
This situation has caused significant hardship for farmers who rely entirely on these canals for irrigation. As a result, many farmers, including Al-Abbasi, have been forced to seek alternatives to irrigate their crops and their vast fields across the Wadi region, with the most common solution they have turned to being the random drilling of wells.
Meanwhile, Jubran Taher, an agricultural worker in Marib, spoke to "Khuyut" by stating that there is a failure on the part of the relevant authorities to clean and remove all debris from these water canals that extend across the farmlands, as well as a lack of maintenance for the canals that have been damaged and are now out of service.
Reasons for the Deterioration of Main and Secondary Irrigation Canals
According to farmers, experts, and researchers, the deterioration of the dam's canals is not solely due to neglect; they were also never fully completed. Their poor condition has greatly impacted agricultural production, leading to a reduction in arable and cultivated lands. The most critical issue in this context is the over-depletion of water resources due to the expansion of random and unregulated well drilling.
In an exclusive statement to "Khuyut," the Director of the Marib Dam, Engineer Ahmed Al-Areefi, emphasized that the problem with the canals is not just their deterioration, but primarily their incomplete construction. Additionally, they have not been properly utilized or managed.
“The proposed solutions include conducting regular maintenance of these canals at the end of each season and ensuring that water is properly distributed to the secondary canals. However, the primary reason for the current issues, according to the director of the Marib Dam, is a lack of awareness and, more importantly, the absence of regulations and legal frameworks in these tribal areas. The resulting tampering and vandalism of the secondary canals lead to their neglect, necessitating maintenance, and eventually causing their destruction over time.”
The Marib Dam’s canals extend across fifty channels, comprising both main and secondary canals, with others still incomplete, according to Al-Areefi. He also noted that the main canal has not been fully utilized for irrigation, citing "tribal circumstances" as one of the reasons, in addition to the incomplete construction of the secondary canals.
According to the director of the Marib Dam, this has led to the accumulation of debris and the destruction of the canals by those who do not seek any benefit from their proper use. Some individuals are extracting water incorrectly from the main canal, which is not intended for direct water withdrawal but rather for distributing water between the secondary canals.
Risks of Unregulated Well Drilling
Agricultural engineer Mohammed Kabe'a, in his interview with "Khuyut," attributes the expansion of unregulated well drilling to farmers whose landholdings are less than two hectares, as each farmer with a small plot tends to drill a well on his land.
In some cases, these farmers are heirs. For instance, when there are six heirs who inherit land after the death of the owner, and their holdings are divided among them, each new landowner with a small holding of between two and three hectares starts drilling his own well, with the same happening for the other owners. This results in each of the six heirs, each holding only two to three hectares, having their own well.
Meanwhile, one well could suffice for an area of 10 hectares of land. So, if they were to distribute the water among themselves based on the days of the week, the situation would be much better than the current practice. According to Kabe’a, the problem lies in the absence of mandatory regulations to control well drilling and curb random practices.
As for the decline in agricultural production, a significant part of the problem, according to this agricultural engineer, stems from the excessive deepening of wells, which disrupts the balance of water consumption. The amount of water used exceeds the amount stored underground or on the surface. Consequently, this imbalance has led to the degradation of water quality and the emergence of saline water, which severely limits agricultural expansion, given that most crops cannot tolerate salinity, forcing farmers to resort to planting moderately salt-tolerant crops, which in turn results in lower productivity per unit area compared to crops irrigated with fresh water, according to Kabe’a.
Moreover, there are other factors contributing to the decline in agricultural production, including the interruption of canal flows during the middle of the agricultural season due to insufficient water in the dam’s basin and the lack of incoming floodwaters from the areas that supply the Marib Dam.
Lakes and Maintenance Operations to Protect Heritage
Among the proposed solutions are conducting regular maintenance on these canals at the end of each season and ensuring that water is properly distributed to the secondary canals. However, the primary reason for the current issues, according to the director of the Marib Dam, is a lack of awareness and, more importantly, the absence of regulations and legal frameworks in these tribal areas. The resulting tampering and vandalism of the secondary canals lead to their neglect, necessitating maintenance, and eventually causing their destruction over time.
Al-Areefi continues: "The maintenance we undertake begins primarily with cleaning, as there are areas that have suffered from 'cracks' and require repair. We address these issues with the help of some organizations that carry out the cleaning and repair operations, while our role in dam management is to identify the main canals that need maintenance."
As for the cleaning and maintenance operations carried out by these organizations, they have managed to preserve approximately 50 kilometers of canal area, maintaining around 24 sectors of it. However, there are still 24 canals that have not yet been implemented or addressed.
Al-Areefi states, "We have started maintenance on three canals through the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the work will continue until the project is completed, which simultaneously requires attention and support from state institutions."
In the meantime, the local authority in Marib governorate is currently working on certain aspects of maintenance, such as repairing sections damaged by vehicle collisions, neglect, or due to water leaks and natural erosion.
Regarding the studies for constructing a reservoir in the Wadi Ubaida area, Al-Areefi confirms that there are studies for around 10 reservoirs in the valley to replenish groundwater. However, before proceeding with these plans, surface water should be utilized for irrigation. If surface water is effectively harnessed through canals for direct irrigation, wells could be shut down, reducing the need for groundwater except for supplementary irrigation.
Nevertheless, the most crucial issue, according to Kabe’a, is the need for everyone to recognize the significance of the Marib Dam, which is considered one of the most important historical landmarks in Yemen. It plays a vital role in providing water for agriculture, which necessitates that all relevant authorities fulfill their duties in protecting the Marib Dam and repairing damaged canals to preserve this historical heritage and ensure the continuity of agriculture in the region.
