Water quality control project implemented

A plan to enable millions of Iraqis to have access to clean water is underway, thanks to a joint project by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Iraqi Ministry of Environment (MoE). The aim is to design a comprehensive water quality monitoring system in central and southern Iraq. "About 22 million of Iraqis will get benefit of this project," Mohammad Hamasha, WHO's sanitary engineer, told IRIN from Kuwait on Tuesday, explaining the current need for water quality control laboratories in central and southern Iraq and the poor condition of water distribution networks. "The lack of proper sewerage systems and the unhygienic disposal of household waste water practised in many places threatens unprotected water sources and the water distribution network," he added, highlighting the relevance of the project. Both WHO and MoE agreed, during a workshop held in late September in Jordan, to implement the "Water Quality Control and Surveillance" project while establishing 15 central water quality control laboratories and 30 district laboratories in all the central and southern Iraqi governorates. The work also involves rehabilitation of the central water control laboratory in the capital, Baghdad. "A water quality laboratory network is essential to do the testing for drinking water before it reaches consumers, to ensure that the supplied water meets the country standards and WHO guidelines," he said, noting that the existing laboratories required equipment for water testing. The agreement is part of an ongoing project implemented by the MoE in partnership with the WHO. Between 1997 and 2003 the UN agency established 15 water control laboratories in the three northern governorates, under the Oil-for-Food programme. "By the completion of this project there will be a well established water quality network throughout the country," the WHO official said, stressing the MoE's commitment to speed up the process in an effort to reduce the risk of waterborne diseases. In addition, there are plans to enhance the skills of environmental personnel through training and to launch hygiene education campaigns to raise awareness among the population to stop some people from tapping into water supplies illegally. "Due to the lack of public environmental health awareness, consumers are directly and illegally puncturing the main water supply lines with their individual and unhygienic plastic hoses, causing direct and continuous contamination," Hamasha stated. The cost of the project, an estimated US $3 million, will be covered by the European Commission through the United Nations Development Group (UNDG) Trust Fund.