NEW LAGOON TO IMPROVE NORTH GAZA SEWAGE SYSTEM

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 000509 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS NEA/IPA FOR WILLIAMS/SHAMPAINE/BELGRADE; TREASURY FOR NUGENT/HIRSON; EB FOR LIZ DIBBLE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV PHUM EAID KBIO KWBG IS SUBJECT: NEW LAGOON TO IMPROVE NORTH GAZA SEWAGE SYSTEM REF: 2006 JERUSALEM 02852 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Construction of the donor-financed Northern Gaza Wastewater Treatment Plant (NGWTP) began in February. The plant's new storage lagoon began receiving wastewater from the nearby Beit Lahiya sewage lake in early March in order to provide relief to the area's overflowing sewage system. Previously, the Beit Lahiya sewage lake's effluent seeped into residential areas, and contaminated the coastal aquifer, according to World Bank officials and Gaza-based USAID staff. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) The World Bank, European Commission, European Investment Bank, Sweden, France, Belgium and the PA are financing the USD 52 million NGWTP project. The NGWTP will serve roughly 350,000 Gaza residents when it is completed in three years. Deputy World Bank Country Director Faris Hadad-Zervos told Econoff on March 12 that the plant's construction began in February following months of negotiations between the Israeli Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT),the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA),and donors. He stated that a deal was reached between PWA and COGAT that allows the project's construction materials to be imported through Karni as long as the PWA provides COGAT with a daily report of all construction activities. ¶3. (SBU) According to Hadad-Zervos, the plant's new lagoon began receiving wastewater pumped from the Beit Lahiya sewage lake on March 3. The start of this effluent transfer was postponed on several occasions in 2006 due to Israeli military operations in Gaza, which delayed the lagoon's completion (reftel),according to Hadad-Zervos. The lagoon's nine cisterns and pumps - located two kilometers east of the Beit Lahiya lake - began storing Gaza wastewater and reducing the lake's effluent level. Heavy rains had caused sewage overflow and leakage from the Beit Lahiya sewage lake into nearby residential areas in February, causing epidermal diseases and parasites in residents, according to Hari Al-Jamal, the World Bank representative in Gaza. ¶4. (SBU) The Beit Lahiya sewage lake was dug by the GOI in 1976 to serve a population of 30,000 residents, but in 2007 it serves over 200,000 Gazans. Once the NGWTP is opened, the lake will receive little new wastewater, as most effluent will be pumped directly to the new treatment plant, according to Al-Jamal. He stated that the Beit Lahiya lake is likely contaminating the coastal aquifer due to seapage of insufficiently treated sewage. He said that the risk of aquifer contamination is reduced greatly as effluent levels are lowered. WALLES