.US-Iraqi officials seek to ease water shortages
BAGHDAD (AP) - The tanks were full of enough clean drinking water for some 200,000 Iraqis at a new distribution station in eastern Baghdad, but local officials struggled Saturday to agree on where it should go.
The dilemma was an example of the obstacles facing the Iraqis and their American backers as they try to rebuild the country. The Iraqi government is flush with oil money, but officials often lack the know-how and experience to dole out the cash efficiently.
U.S. soldiers and Iraqi officials began working on the water distribution site in the former Shiite militia stronghold of New Baghdad in April - part of a broader strategy to provide immediate relief in hopes of boosting confidence in the Iraqi government and preventing militants from regaining support.
Iraq's government provided $191,000 for the project, which is located on a joint U.S.-Iraqi military base in the area.
Water can either be collected by people filling bottles and other containers from three public taps on the base or from tanker trucks that will deliver it to collection points elsewhere in the neighborhood.
American officials acknowledge it's a short-term solution. Better if people could receive clean water through their faucets at home.
But the Americans say the distribution system will at least provide Iraqis breathing room to improve infrastructure that has been devastated after more than five years of violence.
Officials need "to rapidly and responsibly meet the needs of the Iraqi people" but also to "sustain, to plan, to budget, execute and provide those services for the people," said Brig. Gen. Robin Swan, a deputy commander for the 4th Infantry Division in Baghdad.
Iraqis have been able to use the taps at the facility, which has a storage capacity of about 52,800 gallons. But the local municipal council hasn't decided how many trucks can be used and where they should deliver the water.
"The challenge has been to come up with a distribution plan," said Maj. Gary Giles, a civil affairs officer with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, which is spearheading the project. "Here we're having some fits and starts."
But Giles, 50, was optimistic the issue would be resolved so the trucks can start delivering water by the end of the week.
Mudhafer Ali, the official in charge of the Baghdad water pipes network, said the water would be distributed by trucks carrying nearly 4,000 gallons each and there was a plan to eventually expand the project to provide irrigation water.
"There is an agreement to use five trucks that will work for eight hours to deliver water to the residents," he said.
Filthy drinking water that is often contaminated by sewage that overflows into the Tigris River has raised fears of cholera and other diseases. Baghdad's network of aging pipes also suffers damage because impoverished and displaced Iraqis frequently tap into it illegally.
A cholera outbreak in northern Iraq last year killed 14 people, but U.S. military officials say no confirmed cases of cholera have been recorded this year.
U.S. and Iraqi officials insist that the tap water in most of Baghdad is of good quality. The U.S. military claims that nine water treatment plants run by the city's water authority are capable of producing more than 2 million cubic meters of potable water per day, a 30 percent increase from last year.
Still, many people lack clean water.
Recognizing the urgency, the Iraqi government has invested or plans to invest more than $200 million, in addition to $50 million in U.S. military emergency funds. More than 100 projects are in the works to improve the capital's water supply, according to the U.S. military.
Two-thirds of the raw sewage produced in the capital flows untreated into rivers and waterways, Stuart Bowen, special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, said in his quarterly report released last month.
But the report also found that more Iraqis nationwide have access to potable water now than before the U.S.-led war began in March 2003 - 20 million people compared with 12.9 million previously.
The World Bank has estimated that it would take $14.4 billion to rebuild the Iraqi public works and water system.
Another water distribution site launched last week in Baladiyat, another eastern Shiite neighborhood, has been welcomed by residents.
"We are suffering a lot due to this problem especially in summer. Water is very vital to us and we hope that further measures are taken to lessen our suffering," said Abdul-Hussein Hanoun, a 45-year-old Education Ministry worker who lives near the station.
MyWay
Sounds like the right bribes haven't been paid.
The dilemma was an example of the obstacles facing the Iraqis and their American backers as they try to rebuild the country. The Iraqi government is flush with oil money, but officials often lack the know-how and experience to dole out the cash efficiently.
U.S. soldiers and Iraqi officials began working on the water distribution site in the former Shiite militia stronghold of New Baghdad in April - part of a broader strategy to provide immediate relief in hopes of boosting confidence in the Iraqi government and preventing militants from regaining support.
Iraq's government provided $191,000 for the project, which is located on a joint U.S.-Iraqi military base in the area.
Water can either be collected by people filling bottles and other containers from three public taps on the base or from tanker trucks that will deliver it to collection points elsewhere in the neighborhood.
American officials acknowledge it's a short-term solution. Better if people could receive clean water through their faucets at home.
But the Americans say the distribution system will at least provide Iraqis breathing room to improve infrastructure that has been devastated after more than five years of violence.
Officials need "to rapidly and responsibly meet the needs of the Iraqi people" but also to "sustain, to plan, to budget, execute and provide those services for the people," said Brig. Gen. Robin Swan, a deputy commander for the 4th Infantry Division in Baghdad.
Iraqis have been able to use the taps at the facility, which has a storage capacity of about 52,800 gallons. But the local municipal council hasn't decided how many trucks can be used and where they should deliver the water.
"The challenge has been to come up with a distribution plan," said Maj. Gary Giles, a civil affairs officer with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, which is spearheading the project. "Here we're having some fits and starts."
But Giles, 50, was optimistic the issue would be resolved so the trucks can start delivering water by the end of the week.
Mudhafer Ali, the official in charge of the Baghdad water pipes network, said the water would be distributed by trucks carrying nearly 4,000 gallons each and there was a plan to eventually expand the project to provide irrigation water.
"There is an agreement to use five trucks that will work for eight hours to deliver water to the residents," he said.
Filthy drinking water that is often contaminated by sewage that overflows into the Tigris River has raised fears of cholera and other diseases. Baghdad's network of aging pipes also suffers damage because impoverished and displaced Iraqis frequently tap into it illegally.
A cholera outbreak in northern Iraq last year killed 14 people, but U.S. military officials say no confirmed cases of cholera have been recorded this year.
U.S. and Iraqi officials insist that the tap water in most of Baghdad is of good quality. The U.S. military claims that nine water treatment plants run by the city's water authority are capable of producing more than 2 million cubic meters of potable water per day, a 30 percent increase from last year.
Still, many people lack clean water.
Recognizing the urgency, the Iraqi government has invested or plans to invest more than $200 million, in addition to $50 million in U.S. military emergency funds. More than 100 projects are in the works to improve the capital's water supply, according to the U.S. military.
Two-thirds of the raw sewage produced in the capital flows untreated into rivers and waterways, Stuart Bowen, special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, said in his quarterly report released last month.
But the report also found that more Iraqis nationwide have access to potable water now than before the U.S.-led war began in March 2003 - 20 million people compared with 12.9 million previously.
The World Bank has estimated that it would take $14.4 billion to rebuild the Iraqi public works and water system.
Another water distribution site launched last week in Baladiyat, another eastern Shiite neighborhood, has been welcomed by residents.
"We are suffering a lot due to this problem especially in summer. Water is very vital to us and we hope that further measures are taken to lessen our suffering," said Abdul-Hussein Hanoun, a 45-year-old Education Ministry worker who lives near the station.
MyWay
Sounds like the right bribes haven't been paid.
posted by madtom at 11:57 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home