Amir Dakkak, a Palestinian from East Jerusalem and an Environmental Scientist at AECOM discusses the ongoing water crisis in Gaza.
Amir Dakkak: While ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel in the Gaza Strip has resulted in severe damage to its infrastructure, the real risk is Gaza’s lack of usable water. The only natural source of fresh water in Gaza is a shallow aquifer on the southern part of its coast; 90 to 95% of which is not safe for drinking because of neighbouring seawater, sewage, and runoff from agriculture.
However, even though most of it is not fit for consumption, residents have no other choice but to resort to using it. UN hydrologists have indicated that current extraction rates from the aquifer run at around 160 million cubic meters (mcm)/year, 105 mcm above the recommended abstraction rate.
The repercussions of this over abstraction can be disastrous because a drop in the water table would cause a large volume of sea water to seep through the surface and into the aquifer, further contaminating the entire aquifer.
The situation was not always like this - prior to 2006 when Israel imposed a blockade, around 97% of all households within the Gaza strip had access to the coastal aquifer. Gaza also showcased five sewage and wastewater treatment plants that improved the water’s health and status. Three of these have been damaged by bombardment, leading to the discharge of an estimated 3.5 million cubic feet (1 Cubic feet = 0.028 cubic meters) of raw sewage into the Mediterranean Sea every day.
In 2012 plans for a desalination plant in Gaza were suggested and were backed by Israel, all Mediterranean governments, the UN, the EU, and key development banks. It was also confirmed that the finances for this project were to be provided by the Islamic Development Bank and the European Investment Bank. However shortly after the plans were published, conflicts reoccurred and the once promising project was discarded and infrastructure destroyed.
The city’s water quality has become a central factor in its water crisis threatening all life in the city - currently there are little to no solutions left for Gaza. Without peace the water crisis will continue to worsen until the Gaza Strip becomes unlivable. Gaza needs to manage its own water supply, rebuild its infrastructure, and to import fresh water from the outside world.
This is a shortened version of an article which first appeared on the ecomena website in October 2016. Click here to read the full article
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