Gaza Strip Waters collapsing

Tuesday September 15, 2009 01:16 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) stated that the underground water in the Gaza Strip is in real danger of collapse after the recent war in the Gaza Strip.

The UNEP prepared a report on the environmental conditions in the Gaza Strip after the war, and said that the situation said that supplying 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza with drinking and agricultural water needs to be “rested” and alternative sources of water must be found.

“Unless the trend is reversed now, damage could take centuries to reverse”, the report said, “Since the aquifer is a continuum with Egypt and Israel, any such action must be coordinated with these countries”.

It added that at least $1.5 million could be needed to restore the aquifer back, and that this process could take up to twenty years.  This includes establishing desalination plants to take pressure off the underground water supplies, the UNEP added.

Water supplies in Gaza are greatly affected by the rise in salt-water from the seam, and that this issue is caused by the over extraction of ground water, pollution, sewage and agricultural run-off, and that toxic level are toxic levels in the water are high enough to put the infants in the coastal region at risk of nitrate poisoning.

“Many of the impacts of the recent hostilities have exacerbated environmental degradation that has been years in the making – environmental degradation that does not end at the borders of the Gaza Strip but also affect the health and welfare of those living beyond,” said Achim Steiner UNEP Executive Director.

 It added that the three-week war on Gaza, in which more than 1300 Palestinians were killed and more that 6000 were wounded, in addition to dozens of residents who died on their wounds later on, has caused the destruction of buildings and infrastructure creating 600.000 tons of debris.

The program recommended urgent investment to secure rehabilitation, recover and long-term sustainability.

 According to the report, removing and safely disposing the rubble needs some $7 million, as some of the rubble is contaminated by asbestos.

$11 million are also needed to recover the damage to the farmers' livelihoods and for clean-up operations, as the report estimated that 17% of cultivated lands in Gaza, including greenhouses and orchards, sustained severe damages.

“The repeated power cuts to treatment facilities in the Gaza Strip caused sewage spills, and a build-up of hazardous hospital wastes at landfill sites generated in part as a result of the numbers injured, and the collapse of refuse collection services”, Mr. Steiner said, “decomposing existing landfills and establishing new solid waste management systems needed more than $40 million”.

 He further stated that “the hard facts and figures presented in the report, and the indicative investment estimates should be sufficient to assist all concerned parties to understand the gravity of the situation and act to provide transformative solutions”.