Almost 95 percent of the water pumped in the Gaza Strip is polluted and unfit for drinking
24 August 2010
(Reliefweb) Almost 95 percent of the water pumped in the Gaza Strip is polluted
and unfit for drinking. This warning was recently issued by the UN Environment
Programme, the Palestinian Water Authority, the Coastal Municipalities Water
Utility, and international aid organizations. They estimate it will take at
least 20 years to rehabilitate Gaza's underground water system, and any delay in
dealing with the problem will lead to additional deterioration in the situation
and thus might extend the rehabilitation process for hundreds of years. Since it
began its siege on the Gaza Strip, in June 2007, Israel has forbidden the entry
of equipment and materials needed to rehabilitate the water and
wastewater-treatment systems there. The prohibition has remained despite the
recent easing of the siege.
Reasons for the water pollution in Gaza
The water crisis in the Gaza Strip arose following over-pumping of the
underground water of the Coast Aquifer. It is estimated that the amount of water
annually pumped from the aquifer is roughly twice the amount of water that
replenishes it. As a result of the over-pumping, which has been going on for
several decades, salt water has penetrated the aquifer. In addition, the poor
maintenance of the wastewater-treatment facilities in Gaza, which increased
following the siege, and the damage done to the wastewater-treatment facility in
Gaza City during Operation Cast Lead, led to further pollution of the
underground water by wastewater, and to greater salinity. Another factor for the
pollution is the waste-disposal sites in Gaza, which are not properly handled.
Following Operation Cast Lead, these sites received enormous amounts of waste -
more than 600,000 tons - including asbestos, medial waste, oils, and fuels.
Water consumption in Gaza
The daily per capita water consumption in the Gaza Strip is 91 liters, slightly
higher than in the West Bank, where the figure is 73 liters, yet lower than the
minimum of 100 liters recommended by the World Heath Organization. By
comparison, daily per capita consumption in Israel is 242 liters in urban areas
and 211 liters in rural areas.
Magnitude of the pollution
The director of quality control in the Gazan Coastal Municipalities Water
Utility, Eng. Majed Ghanem, told B'Tselem that an examination conducted in late
2009 in 180 wells revealed that, in 93 percent of them, the chloride level
(which indicates the water's salinity) was 1,000 to 2,000 mg/liter, four to
eight times higher than the 250 mg/liter amount recommended by the WHO. Water
with a chloride level this high is unfit for drinking. According to Ghanem, the
pollution also affects the water's color and causes its repellent odor.
In addition, an examination carried out by the UN Environment Programme on a
number of wells in Gaza found that the concentration of nitrates was six times
higher than the 50 mg level recommended by the WHO. This high level of nitrates
is liable to cause anemia among children and methemoglobinemia ("blue infants"
syndrome) among infants, which is liable to lead to choking and death. A study
published in 2007, in which a sample of 340 infants from Gaza were examined,
found that almost half of them suffered from troubling symptoms of the syndrome.
The Palestinian Water Authority estimates that almost 40 percent of the
incidence of disease in Gaza is related to polluted drinking water. According to
international aid organizations, 20 percent of Gazan families have at least one
child under age five who suffers from diarrhea as a result of polluted water. A
UN study published in 2009 estimates that diarrhea is the cause of 12 percent of
children's deaths in Gaza. The lack of potable drinking water is liable to cause
malnutrition in children and affect their physical and cognitive development.
The water pollution also harms the area's agricultural produce. According to
Ghanem, the milk given by cows in Gaza is polluted, and farm crops that once
characterized the area, such as oranges, have declined in quantity and quality.
Effects of the siege and Operation Cast Lead
Since the beginning of the siege, Israel has prohibited the entry of equipment
and materials that can be used to improve water quality and taste, and to
develop and rehabilitate the water infrastructure and the wastewater-treatment
facilities in Gaza. The prohibition has remained in force even after the recent
easing of restrictions, and despite the Cabinet's decision to allow the entry of
building materials for projects that have been approved by the Palestinian
Authority and are supervised by international organizations. The equipment
needed includes water pumps, pipes, generators, computers, building cement, and
chloride. Israel classifies these materials as dual-use items that are liable to
be used for military purposes, and therefore prohibits their entry.
The Gazan Coastal Municipalities Water Utility currently requires 1,250 tons of
cement just to rebuild water reservoirs. The Sufa Crossing between Gaza and
Israel, which is intended, among other things, for the transfer of building
materials, has been closed since March 2009. The by-laws of the international
organizations prohibit them from purchasing cement smuggled into Gaza through
tunnels, for the rehabilitation projects.
The lack of construction materials and replacement parts has also led to greater
loss of water from the supply network in Gaza. Prior to the siege, the loss had
been 30 percent of the amount of water supplied to consumers, generally
resulting from leaks in the pipes. In 2009, the loss reached 47 percent,
according to figures of the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility.
The Gaza Strip's power station has been working at partial output since Israel
bombed it in June 2006. There is also a shortage of industrial fuel needed to
operate the station, following the disputes that arose between the Palestinian
Authority and Hamas regarding its funding, which has led to frequent power
outages. The outages prevent the wastewater-treatment facilities from completing
the 14-day treatment cycle and also impair the frequency of water supply to
houses. According to UN figures, water is supplied to houses in Gaza City for
four to six hours once every five days, and in the rest of the Gaza Strip for
four to six hours once every three days. Due to the low pressure, the water does
not reach the top floors in tall buildings.
In Operation Cast Lead, Israel damaged Gaza City's wastewater-treatment
facility, leading to untreated wastewater flooding extensive farm areas.
According to the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility, 30 kilometers of water
networks, 11 wells, and 6,000 home water tanks were damaged during the
operation, and the overall damage to the water and wastewater-treatment
facilities amounted to six million dollars.
Most of Gaza's wastewater now flows to the Mediterranean Sea, some as raw
wastewater, and some following partial treatment. International organizations
have found that the shoreline near which the wastewater flows is polluted and
unfit for bathing. Proper wastewater treatment would have enabled use of the
treated wastewater for agricultural purposes and reduced pumping of the
underground water.
Effect of the economic situation on water consumption
Due to the poor water quality, many Gazans are forced to buy water treated in
facilities operated by local entrepreneurs or to use home desalination devices.
The quality of the water provided in this way is unsupervised, and the lack of
replacement parts and regular power supply has harmed them, too.
Since treatment of water from pollutants such as nitrates and chlorides is very
expensive, the cost of a cubic meter of treated water is a high as 50 shekels
(some 13 US dollars in August 2010), 10 times higher than the price paid by
households in Israel. Many Gazans cannot afford this luxury: the unemployment
rate in Gaza reached 39 percent in 2009, and poverty in 2007 was 43 percent. In
2007, average family expenditures in Gaza stood at slightly more than 2,000
shekels a month.
Recommendations of the UN Environment Programme
To prevent the collapse of the Gazan water economy, the UN Environment Programme
recommended, a year ago, that pumping of water from the Coast Aquifer in Gaza
cease. The Programme also suggested that Israel and Egypt, countries which share
the water of the aquifer, formulate a joint action plan - including alternative
water-supply sources, among them desalination facilities - to deal with the
water crisis in Gaza. The Programme also recommended that an epidemiological
survey be made to study the effects of polluted-water consumption on the Gazan
population, especially on the children.
To cope with the grave water crisis in Gaza, Israel must immediately allow the
entry of materials and equipment needed to rehabilitate and develop the water
and wastewater-treatment systems there. Also, all the sides - Israel, the
Palestinian Authority, the Hamas government, and Egypt - must take action to
stop the rapid deterioration in the condition of the underground water system of
the Coast Aquifer, which serves residents of the Gaza Strip, and find additional
sources of drinking water for the residents.
26/08/2010