Ten-thousand cubic meters of water might be supplied to Erbil every hour.
The capital city shouldn't have to worry about another water shortage for the next 25 years.
According to Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Ministry of Water, the strategic Ifraz water project, 60-percent complete, will completely supply the Region's capital. According to estimations and production forecast of the project, the city will not need to use underground water until the year 2035, 25 years after it is completed.
The project, funded by the United States, is designed with a capacity of treating and pumping 10,000 cubic meters of water to Erbil every hour. However, currently only 60 percent of the project is completed and only 6,000 cubic meters of water is produced.
Engineer Nihad Izzaddin, director of KRG Ministry of Municipalities' Water and Sanitary Directorate, claims that if the rest of the expected capacity is met and the 40 percent of the project is completed, the project will supply the whole city. "If water counters are installed for each household to reduce water consumption, Ifraz can be a long-term source of water for the capital of Kurdistan."
Hence, each household will pay water bills according to the amount of water consumed, which can help reduce water consumption.
The Swedish government is funding a project to set up a modern water and sanitary treatment in the region. The project is being implemented by the Swedish Qandil Organization in cooperation with the Ministry of Municipalities.
Starting with a quarter in Erbil as a sample, the project is trying to renovate the water network, install water counters, and raise the awareness of inhabitants about how to avoid wasting and misusing water. The allocated funds for this project is US$50 million.
It is planned that some 100,000 more water counters will arrive in the region in a month and will be installed in households.
The next step after installing the counters and completing the Ifraz project will be closing all the deep water wells that are currently supplying Erbil with underground water.
"The budget allocated for the project [located on the Kalak River west of Erbil] by the U.S. was not sufficient to implement the whole project, and it still needs US$50 million for 100-percent completion," Izzaddin told "The Kurdish Globe." "For that purpose we did some negotiating with a Japanese bank, which has expressed its willingness to provide the funds. The dossier of the project is currently in Baghdad and waiting for the President's approval for completion."
The project is of a modern design, and it operates in a computerized system. It consists of an intake that has been constructed on and takes its water from the Kalak River and saves it in a tank. The water is pumped from the river. The first treatment is the chemical treatment, which is done in the first tank. Later, the water passes through a number of filters that purifies the water completely.
The purified water then is saved in the final tank, where chemicals are added continuously to keep water clean before being pumped into Erbil's water network.
Amid the water shortage that faces all Iraq and Kurdistan, supplying enough clean drinking water is a hot issue in the region, and the Ministries of Municipalities and Water Resources have been trying hard to provide clean drinking water for all inhabitants.
A large amount of funds have been allocated for a large number of projects of renovating water networks, cleaning the drinking water, and raising people's awareness about how to conserve water.
The Korean KOICA has promised to fund a project with US$3.5 million to renovate and improve the second phase of Ifraz project, which is the second largest water project in Erbil after the first phase of Ifraz, which has solved the water issue in the city considerably.
By Aiyob Mawloodi
© The Kurdish Globe 2009
