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Clean water is on the way

A major water project underway in Ninevah Province, Northern Iraq, will benefit around 215,000 citizens in the towns of Sinjar and Baaj, along with 109 villages surrounding Sinjar Mountain.

"We are making a big difference here in northern Iraq," said Lisa Lawson., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region North, a resident of Tulsa, Oklahoma. "We are helping to provide water, electricity, schools, police stations, and health care clinics."

The project is crucial because of 300 existing wells, only 67 supply potable water to the district. Out of the 67 wells, 30 percent are out of order. The majority of the remaining wells are privately used for irrigation.

The project is currently in its first phase, which consists of constructing water supply systems such as wells, storage tanks and transmission lines for approximately 72 percent of the villages in the Sinjar District and Baaj, benefiting 155,000 residents.

The project began with an assessment and design phase. Engineers divided the towns and villages into 14 zones, based on their locations and the possibility of being supplied by the same water systems. An Iraqi consulting company helped complete the assessment and design stage, which took approximately 75 days.

At least 10 contractors are bidding for the opportunity to complete the project. The winning company willl supply all services, material, and equipment necessary to perform all construction, and competent labor to construct, oversee and manage all activities associated with the building construction of new water supply systems.

The cost for this phase is estimated between $15-$20 million. In November 2003, Congress passed the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund and allocated $18.4 billion to help rebuild Iraq's infrastructure that suffered from years of neglect. As of March 2006, approximately $16.3 billion, or 89 percent, was allocated and $11.4 billion expended.

Source: Multi-National Force-Iraq