Gaza: Water In The Firing Line

Gaza's Water Crisis Grows as Israel Targets Infrastructure

When Operation Protective Edge commenced on July 8, Israel pledged to draw on lessons learned from previous conflicts to ensure that this operation would not near the duration of the 2008-2009 Gaza War. But it's been three weeks and one day since the conflict began, bringing it in line with Operation Cast Lead.

The infrastructural damage of the previous war has yet to be repaired - and now it has been set back further, following the destruction of Gaza's sole power plant. Serving 1.8m people, the plant was struck during a seven-hour bombardment in which 128 Palestinians died, bringing the number of fatalities to more than 1,200 Palestinians and 53 Israeli soldiers.

As Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warned of "a long conflict ahead", residents of the Gaza Strip now confront severe water restrictions as the loss of the station paralyses the region's water pumps and electricity will be unavailable for months to come.

Water in Gaza

Water has assumed a significant role in the conflict: on a basic level it is a source of life and livelihood; at others, it is intertwined with laws that can shape the lives of the civilians dwelling in the West Bank, Negev and Gaza.

When a water source is struck, it adds an additional lethal dimension to the conflict, as survival is not just threatened by weapons, but by the silent killers, disease and deprivation.

During the Gaza War water was a prime casualty, when military attacks caused US$6m of damage through the destruction of four water reservoirs, eleven wells, sewage networks and pumping stations.

By 2012, 95% of the water was unfit for human consumption as pollutants infused the remaining 117 water wells and the contamination has been exacerbated as efforts to rebuild or sustain existing sources are stymied by transport restrictions. The result is a deterioration of the water and sewage system, also caused by over-pumping to counter dwindling water supplies.

The fall in water levels is a regional issue. According to a 2013 NASA study, between 2003 and 2009 the Middle East lost 144 cubic kilometres of stored freshwater, an amount on par with the loss of the Dead Sea. Facing rising pollution and falling supplies, prior to the current unrest 80% of Gazans paid a third of their household income for fresh water.

Thirst for control

In the West Bank and Negev, the issue of water is no less bleak: acts of sabotage, the denial of permits to own water cisterns and limitations on access to water sources have been an enduring part of the landscape. Water has become a means of control, determining the future ownership of a plot of land, the success or failure of a business, or the means to render a community unlivable.

The designation of land for agriculture or forestry affords a means to prohibit the development of existing villages: once designated, residents are banned from constructing further structures, including water cisterns. Should they proceed with the structure, it will be demolished, regardless of its purpose.

Atir, near Beer Sheva, hosts a community of 500 Bedouin, many of whom were relocated to the village in 1956 by Israeli authorities. At the time, it was deemed a suitable location; in 2013, it was decided that it would better serve as a forest and security forces demolished the homes of 70 people, followed by the tents in which the displaced were living.

In the wider region, wells have been drilled to divert water to the settlements in the West Bank, disrupting Palestinian water lines and in a more overt manner, confiscating water tankers. Deprived of their water source, West Bank residents pay up to 400% more per litre than those directly connected to the water network, while in 2012 water access in the West Bank stood at 25% less than Israeli access.

Tactical sabotage

Once water is gathered, the quest does not end; rather, the new challenge is retaining the drinkable water. According to Oxfam, between 2011 and 2012, 62 European-funded water structures were demolished in Area C, including in the Jordan Valley.

The sabotage emanates from two sources: demolition by the Israeli army, or by individuals from the nearby settlements. In the latter case, contamination has been caused by putting old car parts or animal carcasses in the cisterns.

In the former, bulldozers are used to destroy structures deemed illegal; in other instances, individual acts of sabotage can be driven by ennui.

Source: The Conversation

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1 Comment

1. For almost a month Gaza has been enduring constant Israeli bombardment that is holding severe damages to its infrastructure and its citizens. Concerns have been raised over the lack of medical supplies available to deal with the alarming number of casualties resulting from the massacre in Gaza. However the real risk is Gaza’s lack of usable water. The only natural source of fresh water in Gaza is a shallow aquifer on the southern part of its coast; 90 to 95% of which is not safe for drinking because of neighboring seawater, sewage, and runoff from agriculture. Even though most of it is not fit for consumption, residents have no other choice but to resort to using it. UN hydrologists have indicated that current extraction rates from the aquifer run at around 160 million cubic meters (mcm)/year, 105 mcm above the recommended abstraction rate. The repercussions of this over abstraction can be disastrous because a drop in the water table would cause a large volume of sea water to seep through the surface and into the aquifer, further contaminating the entire aquifer. Of course the situation was not always like this. Prior to 2006, around 97% of all households within the Gaza strip had access to the coastal aquifer. Gaza also showcased five sewage and wastewater treatment plants that improved the water’s health & status. Why did all of this change? What happened? Why have scientists predicted that the Gaza strip will become unlivable by the year 2016? The ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza has had a heavy toll on the strip's already fragile water infrastructure, leaving the territory's 1.8 million residents facing long periods without access to clean running water. This has driven residents to travel long distances in order to reach a source of water that they could use. Some residents have even relied on purchasing expensive bottled water smuggled in from the underground tunnels that connect into Egypt. The constant bombardment has also had negative effects on the five sewage and wastewater treatment plants in Gaza, three of which have been damaged by the bombings. The damage to the treatment plants led to the discharge of an estimated 3.5 million cubic feet (1 Cubic feet = 0.028 cubic meters) of raw sewage into the Mediterranean Sea every day. It must be noted that this water crisis in Gaza was present well before the most recent Israeli bombardment began. Since the Israeli blockade on the Gaza strip enforced in 2006 Israel has controlled everything from the national air space to everything entering and exiting the Gaza Strip. Accordingly, Israel has denied the influx of raw material that would be used to improve the current outdated infrastructure causing the existing infrastructure to deteriorate over time. Additionally, as is the situation in the West Bank Israel did and still consumes a disproportionate share of water (approximately 80%) from Gaza’s only water source, the coastal aquifer. Finally, as if to rub salt into the Palestinians wounds, it constantly rejects Palestinian proposals for the construction of private water wells and often destroys any that exist. In 2012, the plans for a desalination plant in Gaza were suggested and were backed by Israel, all Mediterranean governments, the UN, the EU, and key development banks. It was also confirmed that the finances for this projects were to be provided by the Islamic Development Bank and the European Investment Bank. However shortly after the plans were published, conflicts reoccurred and Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip continued. This once promising project was discarded and infrastructure destroyed. The city’s water quality has become a central factor in its water crisis threatening all life in the city. With no end in sight for both the current attacks on the city and the illegal blockade, there are little to no solutions left for Gaza. With its infrastructure constantly being destroyed and its water polluted, the only solution is peace. Without peace the water crisis will continue to worsen until the Gaza Strip becomes unlivable. The illegal blockade must be lifted to allow the people of Gaza the freedom to manage its own water supply, rebuild its infrastructure, and to import fresh water from the outside world because without it Gaza will cease to exist.