General Director of the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) Munther Shublaq warned yesterday of a near water and sewage crises in Gaza due to the continuous electricity crisis, Safa news agency reported.
In a press release, Shublaq said that the situation in Gaza deteriorated as the fuel offered by OCHA, which is needed to run the water and sewage plants, is running out.
The Gaza electricity crisis is too hard that regular power supply being provided only for a few hours a day on a rolling blackout schedule. https://t.co/Qt9IirsCTU #GazaNeedsYou pic.twitter.com/qxuqXdKmB9
— Ahmed Hijazi #Gaza (@ahmedhijazi96) September 2, 2018
He warned this would lead to a severe lack of running water, as well as sewage flooding the residential areas across Gaza, which has been under a 12-year Israeli siege.
Shubaq warned that the situation had already moved from the state of crisis to the “edge of a disaster,” citing deterioration of the water and sewage facilities in different areas across Gaza.
Gaza electricity crisis: darkness grips blockaded Strip pic.twitter.com/3piMP3IzE4
— Press TV (@PressTV) September 26, 2017
The Palestinian official also noted that water and sewage plants in Gaza need at least 400,000 liters of industrial fuel in order to keep running.
He added that the “amount of untreated sewage pouring into the sea has increased due to irregular operation of the sewage plants,” noting this causes high levels of pollution and negatively affects the public health of Gazans who have no other place to swim rather than the sea.
1.2 million Palestinians are at imminent risk of possible sewage overflow around the 41 main sewage pumping stations in the #Gaza Strip, threatening a major public health crisis. pic.twitter.com/lmTdAMqlgj
— Oxfam International (@Oxfam) August 11, 2018
Concluding his conference, Shublaq appealed to all international humanitarian and relief organizations and UN institutions to urgently intervene and provide adequate quantities of fuel to ease the crisis of power cuts in the Gaza Strip and enable the CMWU to continue their work.
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
