PRT ANBAR: PRT HELPS TACKLE PROVINCIAL WATER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 000462 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/I E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV PGOV PREL IZ TU SY JO SUBJECT: PRT ANBAR: PRT HELPS TACKLE PROVINCIAL WATER PROBLEMS REF: A. 09 BAGHDAD 0931 ¶B. 09 BAGHDAD 2469 ¶1. (U) This is an Anbar Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT)(Ramadi) cable. ¶2. (U) SUMMARY: A three year drought and damming along the upper Euphrates River has dramatically reduced the amount of water available in Anbar Province. Water levels in Lake Qaddasiya, the province's main reservoir, have dropped nearly 30 meters in two years, and the Haditha hydroelectric dam is currently operating at ten percent capacity. Pollution, inadequate sewage treatment, poor maintenance and managerial challenges have further exacerbated Anbar's water woes. In response, the PRT and its military partners have invested over $100 million in water collection / distribution and sewage treatment projects since 2005 to provide Anbar's citizens with regular access to clean water. Despite the degradation of the water supply, through joint PRT/Anbar Government initiatives, the PRT anticipates that 100 percent of Anbar's 1.4 million residents will have potable water by the end of 2010. END SUMMARY. BACKGROUND -------------- ¶3. (U) Anbar Province, encompassing one-third of Iraq,s land mass, is a predominantly desert environment. The province's 1.4 million residents live in cities and villages bordering the Euphrates River and its canals. The Euphrates is essential to Anbaris' lives and livelihoods, providing water for the people and their livestock, and irrigation for their crops. ¶4. (U) Yet Anbar, like the rest of Iraq, has been suffering through a prolonged drought. This problem has been exacerbated by extensive damming of the Euphrates River. Turkey contributes an average of 90 percent of the Euphrates water flow, while Syria contributes another eight percent. Both of these countries have been constructing dams along the river since the 1970s; Turkey alone maintains 22 dams along the upper Euphrates (ref A). Before the development of these dams, the Euphrates River's average flow rate into Iraq exceeded 30 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year, or 1000 cubic meters per second (cms). According to data from the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources, this flow rate had declined to 290 cms by August of 2009. Today, the Euphrates River inflow from Syria is at its lowest level in six years (ref B). ¶5. (U) Consequently, water levels along the Euphrates in Anbar have dropped an average of one to three meters, while water levels in Lake Qaddasiya, Anbar's main reservoir, have dropped 30 meters since 2007. The Haditha hydroelectric dam, which controls the flow of water from the lake into the Euphrates, contains six turbines capable of generating 660 megawatts of electricity for the Iraqi national power grid. At present, two of those generators have been placed on long-term outage, while the remaining four generators produce an average of only 50 megawatts of electricity. ¶6. (U) Agricultural runoff all along the Euphrates River has polluted the waters with fertilizers, pesticides and salts. In addition, raw sewage and industrial discharges are routinely dumped directly into the river (ref B). As water levels have decreased, pollutants have become more concentrated in the remaining water. These factors, coupled with inadequate sewage treatment, have increased health risks to the general populace. Concentrated pollutants in the Euphrates can cause periodic cholera outbreaks, diarrhea QEuphrates can cause periodic cholera outbreaks, diarrhea diseases, stunted growth, and increased infant and child mortality. MANAGERIAL AND MAINTENANCE ISSUES EXACERBATE THE PROBLEM -------------- -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Tribal politics and budgetary deficiencies further degrade the local Directorate of Water's (DOW) ability to distribute potable water. The Anbar Director General (DG) of Water, Ibrahim Madlool, lacks the ability to make personnel changes within his own organization. In addition, tribal sheikhs influence many water allocation decisions, while tribal water plant managers often overrule the decisions of DOW engineers. BAGHDAD 00000462 002 OF 003 ¶8. (U) Furthermore, the DG of Water's operational budget only provides for salary payments, with no funding allocated for maintenance, repairs, capital projects or water treatment. A pervasive mindset of "running systems until failure" further complicates matters. While all water plants in Anbar are supplied with redundant pumps, PRT representatives have visited many locations where one pump was functioning, but the backup pump was broken, and no efforts were being made to repair it. ¶9. (U) Electricity shortages also contribute to premature equipment failure and degraded water quality. Many water pumping and treatment plants in Anbar receive only six hours of power per day. Frequent power outages compel treatment plants to repeatedly re-pressurize their pipelines, leading to equipment fatigue and failure. Intermittent water service, coupled with reduced waterline pressure, allows contaminants to enter the pipeline as well. ¶10. (U) Lastly, water distribution networks in Anbar are generally quite old and their pipes are riddled with cracks, breaks, illegal taps and inadequate safety valves. Soil chemistry also contributes to pipeline erosion. In short, the Anbar water distribution system is substandard. PRT STRATEGIC EFFORTS DELIVER TANGIBLE RESULTS -------------- - ¶11. (U) To address these issues, the PRT and its military partners have implemented a strategic plan that has dramatically improved water quality and distribution in Anbar Province. Using over $100 million in CERP funds, the PRT and the U.S. military have built 197 new water treatment plants since 2005, raising the total number of these plants in Anbar Province to over 400. ¶12. (U) Because of decreased water levels, many of Anbar's water intake structures had been drawing water from the stagnant banks of the Euphrates River, collecting silt and contaminants. In 2009, the PRT spent $1.7 million in CERP funds to modify 55 of these structures, ensuring that they draw cleaner water from the middle of the river. The PRT plans to spend an additional $1 million to modify 35 more water intake structures in 2010. ¶13. (U) More importantly, the PRT and the Anbar Government are pioneering a new, cost-effective approach to waste water treatment. In 2010, the partners will spend $7 million to install four biological lagoons along the Euphrates River, providing sewage treatment for 400,000 people. These low-tech lagoons require minimal maintenance since they utilize biological organisms to decompose waste material. This material can then be converted to fertilizer and sold to local farmers. Also in 2010, the PRT will spend $3.4 million in CERP funds to install eight compact water treatment units in various rural areas of Anbar. ¶14. (U) Today, 90 percent of Anbari residents have access to potable water, and the Anbar Directorate of Water is able to produce 200 percent of its annual treated water requirements. With the installation of the biological lagoons and compact water treatment units, the PRT anticipates that Anbar Province will be able to provide treated water to 100 percent of its residents by the end of 2010. GOI BUY-IN AND CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT -------------- ¶15. (U) Since 2009, each of these projects has secured a cost-share of between 50 and 75 percent from GOI partner agencies. In addition, the local DGs have become Qagencies. In addition, the local DGs have become increasingly competent in planning and executing these projects through their partnership with the PRT and the U.S. military. The PRT anticipates that its GOI partners will be fully capable of implementing their own programs upon the team's departure in 2011. PROBLEM SOLVED (?) -------------- ¶16. (U) To date, the PRT has focused its efforts on eliminating water service gaps and remedying treatment deficiencies in Anbar. Despite its significant achievements, several challenges remain. Turkey and Syria's damming of the BAGHDAD 00000462 003 OF 003 Euphrates River constitutes a systemic threat to the agricultural and economic vitality of Anbar Province; a threat that can only be addressed through ongoing international negotiations. The provision of sufficient electricity to power the water distribution system is another issue that must be addressed at the national level. ¶17. (U) At the local level, the Directorate of Water, in collaboration with the Provincial Government, must take steps to empower its management team to resist tribal influence. The DOW must also repair and upgrade its existing water distribution systems while providing adequate budgetary support for routine equipment maintenance. Lastly, implementing fee service policies and combating illegal tapping will help to increase revenues and decrease water waste and misuse. The PRT continues to work with its local partners in an advisory capacity to address these issues, with an eye toward its eventual withdrawal from Anbar Province in 2011. FORD