85% OF GAZA’S WATER, SEWAGE FACILITIES DESTROYED BY ISRAEL’S BOMBS

Sat 05 October 2024:

The Palestinian Water Authority announced today that Gaza’s water and sewage sectors have been destroyed by the ongoing Israeli military attacks over the past year, reported Wafa news agency.

Officials said that more than 85 per cent of water and sewage facilities are either fully or partially non-operational due to extensive damage to critical infrastructure.

Ziad Fuqaha, acting head of the Palestinian Water Authority, highlighted that essential infrastructure such as wastewater treatment plants, desalination stations, pumping stations, wells, water tanks, and key pipelines have been badly affected, requiring major repair works to bring them back into use.

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Persistent power outages have worsened the crisis, as there is a severe shortage of fuel needed to run backup generators for water services. The lack of maintenance supplies, combined with widespread destruction and debris, has prevented the ability to ensure safety and coordinate repairs at damaged sites.

Fuqaha further reported that the current Israeli aggression has severely impacted all three main water sources in Gaza, with production dropping to just 30-35 per cent of pre-war levels. Groundwater, previously supplied by 300 wells providing around 262,000 cubic metres daily, has seen a drastic reduction due to significant damage to many of these wells. These now produce only about 93,000 cubic metres of water per day.

Desalination plants have also been heavily affected. The North Gaza facility, with a capacity of 10,000 cubic metres per day, has been completely shut down, while the Central and South Gaza plants, typically producing 5,500 and 20,000 cubic metres per day, are now operating at reduced levels, supplying only around 5,000 cubic metres per day.

The remaining water supply is that supplied by aid groups through the border with Israel. However Israel has greatly restricted the entry of vital humanitarian aid, including water, into the enclave forcing Palestinains to live on three litres of water a day to supply all their needs; just three per cent of the internationally-recognised minimum standard for daily water intake.

-MEMO

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