Tigris–Euphrates river system border. Since the 1960s and in the 1970s, when Turkey began the GAP project in earnest, water disputes have regularly occurred in addition to the associated dam's effects on the environment. In addition, Syrian and Iranian dam construction has also contributed to political tension within the basin, particularly during drought. The general climate of the region is subtropical, hot and arid. At the northern end of the Persian Gulf is the vast floodplain of the Euphrates, Tigris, and Karun Rivers, featuring huge permanent lakes, marshes, and forest. The aquatic vegetation includes reeds, rushes, and papyrus, which support numerous species. Areas
Sawa Lake Sawa Lake Sawa Lake () is an Endorheic basin located in the Iraqi governorate of Muthanna near to the Euphrates River, some to the west of Al-Samawa city. This lake has no inlet or outlet, but it draws water from the Euphrates through a system of joint cracks and fissures which transport water to aquifers beneath it. The water's level fluctuates during dry and wet seasons but does not dry up because of the equilibrium state between water feed and evaporation. Lake Sawa is a unique body of water in Iraq since characterized by highest salinity value (up to 35