Iraq: After 5 years of war, Iraqis desperate for water

Water and sewage are perennial challenges in {Iraq], where the overhaul of decrepit public works has been hindered by years of war and neglect.

Nearly a billion litres of raw sewage is dumped into Baghdad waterways each day — enough to fill 370 Olympic-sized pools.

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Since 2003, the United States has spent about $2.4 billion on Iraq’s water and sanitation sector, and the Iraqi government has now taken over funding major construction. But the World Bank estimates that at least $14 billion is needed.

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Acute cases of diarrhoea are three times more common in eastern Baghdad, where water service is most problematic, than in the rest of the city, the United Nations says. That side of the city has also seen a higher incidence of cholera.

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[W]ater production now amounts to about 2.8 million cubic metres a day in Baghdad, still far below daily demand of 4 million cubic metres.

The state of Baghdad’s sewage system may be even more bleak. [...] “There wasn’t a lot of focus from the (former) regime on the long-term consequences of dumping raw sewage onto river banks,” an official at the U.S. embassy said on condition of anonymity.

The United Nations says that sewage seeping and being dumped into water supplies has “grave implications” for Iraqis’ health and the environment.

Read more: Missy Ryan and Sattar Rahim, Reuters, 24 Aug 2008