Water & Wastewater

A key objective in helping to rebuild Iraq is the restoration of the country's water and sanitation systems, and ensuring a reliable supply of potable water to the Iraqi people. Both water and sanitation systems are designed to protect public health, although after many years of outdated operating practices and inadequate maintenance the need for rehabilitation of these facilities to their original capacities has become urgent. The need to protect public health and improve water supply to the public means that the planned rehabilitation will go further than merely restoring the system to pre-conflict conditions.

Plans and programs are being established to restore water and sanitation systems in Baghdad and other urban centres across Baghdad. In early 2004 the Ministry of Public Works announced that the average daily water service availability was one hour above pre-war levels. While the vast majority of Iraq's urban population has access to water, the quantities per capita are deemed to be insufficient. Although over half of the overall population has access to potable water, leaking pipes have contaminated those networks in many areas.
Iraq's water treatment system consists of 218 traditional water treatment plants and 1,191 mobile compact plants, the latter mainly serving rural areas. The water distribution system in Baghdad consists of nine charge dams, 18 major barrages and 275 pump stations. The equipment used in these pump stations is more than 20 years old. The plan from the ministry was for all those people with access to water to receive clean quantities by the end of 2004, with the aim for 2005 being to extend that to all Iraqi citizens.

There were also plans for the extension of sewage treatment in Iraq to 15 per cent of the country, doubling to 30 per cent by the end of 2005. It is hoped this will be achieved despite the fact that only half of Iraq's sewage plants are currently in operation. Additional problems are caused by the increase in sewage flows caused by population growth.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has included provisions for projects aimed at improving Iraq's irrigation systems, wastewater treatment facilities and the availability of potable water within the scope of its capital construction contract. Bechtel has been working on a project to increase water capacity on the eastern side of Baghdad, with work also continuing in Basra, Diwaniyah and Hillah on sewage treatment plants. Plans have also been announced to hire 100,000 Iraqis on a temporary basis to perform a number of public works duties such as cleaning, refurbishing and garbage collection.

Privately funded humanitarian groups have also been involved in the treatment of damaged water facilities. Veterans for Peace, a non-profit educational and humanitarian group, managed to raise close to $200,000 for the repair of six water treatment facilities, to serve a population of over 85,000.

Estimations from the World Bank predict a total cost in the next few years of around $5 billion for improvements to water sanitation and waste.

  
     

The Water Development Program

One potential solution to the problem of water sanitation comes in the form of the new Water Development Program, a project set up to bring to market an environmentally friendly, biological and non-chemical solution to the contaminated water problem affecting so much of the developing world, from humans to livestock to fish and agricultural projects.

The Water Development Program brings to the market two revolutionary products:

• One-Drop – designed to decontaminate water at the point of use, for smaller-scale personal consumption
• Bacsan – designed for larger scale use in polluted reservoirs, rivers and other water sources

The Water Development Program aims to provide safe drinking water for all, free of Algae, Bacteria, Bleach, Chlorea, Chlorine, Ecoli, Bilharza, Fungi and other water-borne diseases, improving the quality of the water supply for those tendering arable land and dealing in livestock, as well as the quality of life for those dependent on water in polluted areas.

Products are derived from a non-hazardous no-chemical solution produced magnetically through the formation of ions in the water, free of harmful chemicals and toxins. The purification qualities found are similar to those of mineral salts – the best natural water purifier know to mankind. They also act as a sterilising agent, know to possess healing qualities.

The beauty of the products developed by the Water Development Program is in the simplicity of the production process. With no need for complex or expensive machinery to produce ionised water, the products can simply be added straight from the bottle to contaminated water.

For more information, please visit the Water Development Program website.
         
Agriculture Communications Construction Education Energy Finance
Healthcare IT Oil & Gas Security transport Water
   
 
Home About IDP IDP Events News Industries Registration Travel Contact Search
  © Copyright Iraq Development Program 2007