Water and Sanitation
USAID’s goal is to improve the efficiency and reliability of existing water and
wastewater treatment facilities, especially those in the south where water quantity
and quality are particularly low. An anticipated 11.8 million Iraqis will
benefit from USAID’s $600 million in water and sanitation projects.
Highlights This Week:
Workers installing a sand layer in a Baghdad water treatment plant
sand filter |
- Expansion of a major water
treatment plant serving
Baghdad and surrounding
areas is continuing and is
approximately 75% complete.
This project will
produce approximately
250 million gallons of potable
drinking water per
day for Baghdad residents.
- A new training course
on the use of the Geographic Information System (GIS) is being developed in
preparation for a mapping activity that will be the basis of a master plan for the
improvement of sewerage services in Baghdad. USAID’s Local Governance
Program (LGP) advisors are providing technical assistance.
- USAID projects to improve the provision of potable water in the Basrah area
are progressing according to schedule. To date, ten of the 14 water treatment
plants are substantially complete and are undergoing inspection. The final four
plants are expected to be complete by the end of October.
- USAID’s new rural water initiative is underway; since construction began in
September 2004, eleven wells have been drilled in Diyala’ and Salah ad Din
Governorates. These wells will bring water to rural communities with populations
of 1,000 to 5,000. The project, which falls under USAID’s Iraq Infrastructure
Reconstruction Program, will install approximately 150 wells in 300
rural communities.
- Local government officials are working with LGP staff members to improve
the delivery of clean water throughout the country. On September 20, LGP
staff in Arbil Governorate met with officials from the Directorate of Irrigation
and Water Resources to prepare assessments and guidelines for the allocation
of water resources throughout the North. In Babil Governorate, LGP staff met
with representatives of a local Water Department, to provide technical
assistance for preparation of the water supply projects.
Major Accomplishments to Date:
- Nationwide: Repaired
various lift stations and
treatment units.
- Baghdad: Expanding one
water treatment plant to
increase capacity by more
than 50 million gallons per
day and rehabilitating sewage
treatment plants.
- A major wastewater
treatment plant in Baghdad
began operating in June of
2004; this is the first major
plant in the country to operate
in over 12 years.
- The sewage treatment
system in Baghdad, barely
functioning for years before
the conflict, will be restored
to almost 100-percent capacity,
serving 80 percent
of Baghdad's population.
- Standby generators are
being installed at 41 Baghdad
water facilities.
- South: Rehabilitating
parts of the Sweet Water
Canal system, including
repairing breaches, cleaning
the main reservoir, and
refurbishing 14 water treatment
plants around Basrah
serving 1.75 million people.
- South Central: Rehabilitating
two water plants and
four sewage plants.
- Sewage plants in An
Najaf, Al Qadisiyah, Karbala',
and Babil Governorates
will serve 440,000.
- Water treatment in Najaf
and Babil will serve residents
and visitors at Iraq's
holiest shrines.
- North: Rehabilitating two
water plants and one sewage
plant near Mosul and
Kirkuk.
More Information:
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