Yemen: Water Sector Support Project

The World Bank has approved a US$90 million IDA Grant for the Water Sector Support Project for Yemen. The project aims to support the the Government of Yemen’s implementation of the National Water Sector Strategy and Investment Program (NWSSIP) to: (i) strengthen institutions for sustainable water resources management; (ii) improve community-based water resource management; (iii) increase access to water supply and sanitation services; (iv) increase returns to water use in agriculture; and (v) stabilize and reduce groundwater abstraction for agricultural use in critical water basins.

For more information on this project go here

Source: World Bank, 24 Feb 2009

Jordan: ancient wells radioactive, study finds

Ancient underground wells in water-deprived Jordan have 20 times more radiation than is considered safe for drinking, researchers said on [25 February 2009], raising concern about water safety across the Middle East. Their study showed that water from an underground source in Jordan contained high levels of a naturally occurring radioactive particle linked to some cancers, posing a health risk to thousands of people in central Jordan who drink it. [People] in Israel, Egypt, Libya and Saudi Arabia [could also be exposed] to high levels of radioactivity because these countries tap similar sources for drinking water and agriculture, researchers said.

“It’s water you don’t want to drink,” said Avner Vengosh, a researcher at Duke University in the United States, who led the study published in Environmental Science and Technology.

Read more: Nick Vinocur, Reuters, 25 Feb 2009

Fair and Sustainable Management of Fresh Water in the Mediterranean – Symposium, 26-28th March 2009, Monaco

The theme of the 5th International Monaco and the Mediterranean Symposium is:

Fair and Sustainable Management of Fresh Water in the Mediterranean: History and Traditions, Solutions and Prospects

Can we learn from examples of sound water management in Antiquity and in the Arab-Muslim world? What is the future of traditional water systems? Can we be sure that sustainable water management will remain a priority in the face of pressing political and economic concerns? The success stories and ambitious projects presented are inspired by traditional approaches and based on sustainable development principles.

• Three days of discussions open to the general public (round table sessions and debates), professionals, scientists and representatives of Mediterranean countries
• Two themes: water management from Antiquity to the Arab-Muslim civilisation and presentation of the most audacious Mediterranean projects
• 16 Mediterranean countries represented: 30 experts in Culture, Science and Technology
• A Mediterranean country as guest of honour: Morocco its challenges for the future
• A photographic exhibition: ‘Water: between shortage and abundance’
• An award to be announced at the 5th Symposium for the most outstanding initiative in fair and sustainable water management, awarded by a jury of experts, scientists and representatives of institutions and industry.

For more information go to the symposium website or contact:

Rencontres Internationales Monaco et la Méditerranée
6, Lacets Saint Léon, MC-98000 Monaco
Tel.: + 377 97 77 65 27, Fax: + 377 97 77 76 39, E-mail: info [at] rimm-mc.org

Yemen: new plan envisages more effective rainwater harvesting

A senior official at Yemen’s Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) has said a plan has been drafted to boost the country’s water resources and make water for drinking and irrigation more readily available.

Hussein al-Junaid, deputy water and environment minister, who is also an engineer, said the plan is designed to ensure effective management of water resources and rainwater harvesting through the building of water barriers, small dams, concrete tanks in valleys, and water harvesting systems in or on houses.

By 2010, the plan would analyse data on climate change and the impact on water resources, wetlands, Yemen’s coastline that stretches over 2,200km, archipelagos and islands. It would also improve climate change surveillance and rainfall monitoring by providing stations with modern technology and trained workers.

Entitled A Road Map to Harvesting Rainwater in Yemen, the plan does not require highly-advanced techniques or technologies, the deputy minister said.

[...] The plan aims to gather and harvest 70 percent of rainwater by 2012 in Sanaa and use that to feed the Sanaa basin and provide drinking and irrigation water to the city. [O]ther parts of the country would collect 40 percent of the rainwater by 2020 for the same purpose.

The plan also envisages gathering and harvesting 100 percent of the rainwater in Sanaa city by 2020, and in other areas like Taiz city in the south, and big valleys such as Hassan, Tuban and Bana, by 2030.

See also: Wikipedia – Water supply and sanitation in Yemen

Source: IRIN,17 Jul 2008

Yemen: Reforming the Urban Water Supply and Sanitation (UWSS) Sector

Gerhager, B. and Sahooly, A. (2009). Reforming the urban water supply and sanitation (UWSS) sector in Yemen. International journal of water resources development ; vol. 25, no. 1 ; p. 29-46. DOI: 10.1080/07900620802573668

Abstract
In the early 1990s, Yemen suffered from low service coverage and national tariffs that were too low to cover public expenditure, as well as an inadequate level of service provided by the centralized National Water and Sanitation Authority. In 1996, a reform study recommended that the UWSS sector should embrace a policy of decentralization, corporatization, commercialization, the separation of service delivery and regulatory functions, as well as public-private partnerships. The government approved this reform agenda as a Council of Ministers Decree in 1997. Awareness campaigns and consensus-building among stakeholders and political leaders and local demand supported the reform process. Currently, 95% of the total urban population related to utility towns is attended by independent utilities.

Contact: Team Leader: Eng. Anwer Sahooly, Technical Secretariat (TS)/ Reform of the Institutional Framework in the Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Sector, Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE), tel.: +967-1-425342/3,
mobile: +967-733212820, techsec [at] y.net.ye

Web site:  Yemeni-German Technical Cooperation – Water Sector Program

Palestine, Gaza: US$ 25 million needed to restore water and sanitation services

In the military actions since the start of Israel’s Operation Cast Lead on 27 December 2008, hundreds of thousands in Gaza have been cut off from water and sanitation services and infrastructure has been badly damaged. In its flash appeal for Gaza, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has requested US$ 25 million for water and sanitation. The UK Department for International Development (DFID) has pledged £600,000 to Oxfam to provide water and sanitation for at least 50,000 people and to target 2,100 families with health and hygiene-related relief items.

OCHA reports that as of 30 January 2009 seventy percent of water wells in Gaza are functioning, though 10,000 people remain without access to water. Following some emergency repairs, sewage is no longer leaking into the streets in Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia. The Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) reported that water pipes damaged during the fighting are at risk of contamination from sewage. Furthermore, Gaza is at risk from groundwater contamination by sewage as the sandy soil easily absorbs water and any sewage leakages. Restrictions on the goods that can cross into Gaza are impeding the repair of the sewage and water systems.

The CMWU currently has a list of prioritized items, including pipes, generators and pumps awaiting clearance
from the Israeli authorities for entry into Gaza. Humanitarian organizations, including Action Contre la Faim (ACF), CARE, ICRC, Oxfam and UNICEF are providing drinking water and supporting CMWU to perform urgent repairs.

Source: OCHA, occupied Palestinian territory: Gaza Situation Report No. 19, 30 Jan 2009