afghanistanKabul without gold than without snow’ can be applied to the whole of
Afghanistan, for when the snows and spring rains fail, drought inevit-
ably follows. Apart from Nangahar and southeastern Afghanistan, very
little rain falls in the country from May to September and most rivers
have substantial seasonal fluctuations. During the peak flow period in the
spring, when the snows melt and the rains come, the rivers become raging
torrents, causing localized flooding and landslips, washing out roads and
destroying irrigation canals and diversion dams. The situation is not helped
by overgrazing and the destruction of most of the country’s forests. Yet
during the low flow period of the late summer and autumn, water levels
in the lower courses of many rivers dry to a mere trickle.
All of Afghanistan’s rivers are exploited to some degree for irriga-
tion but only a few have steel control gates or concrete-lined banks and
canals. Most irrigation systems are unlined and diversion structures are
made from compacted earth or stone. Maintenance of irrigation canals
is a labour-intensive affair and local stakeholders will muster to de-silt
their canals and repair diversion structures in the spring and autumn. The
management and distribution of water within irrigation networks is in the
hands of community-appointed water bailiffs, known as mirabs. Another
traditional source of irrigation is underground springs that run through
underground channels, known as karez.
All of the country’s major water-storage facilities are located in south-
ern Afghanistan, though there are smaller, localized dams on minor rivers.
Crossing the Kham Pass between Yakaulang and Bamiyan.
Snow persists on this high plateau into early May.