Industry News
Work resumes at Iraqi Water Treatment Plant
By A. Al Bahrani
Jan 31, 2008 - 11:31:41 AM

BASRAH, Iraq -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has resumed work on a water treatment project in Basrah Province. The job had been suspended last year for security reasons. One of seven USACE water projects in the province, the Al-Zierji project is being built at a cost of $1.2 million and is expected to provide clean drinking water for more than 20,000 Iraqis.

Residents of Al-Zierji, a town located in the northern part of Basrah Province, “soon will have fresh potable water pumped into their homes,” said Dan Foltz, resident engineer with the Basrah Area Office of USACE's Gulf Region South district. GRS serves the reconstruction needs of the nine southern provinces of Iraq.

USACE began the Al-Zierji project in late 2005 but had to halt work last year due to security concerns. At that time, the project was about 85 percent complete. Work began again last month, according to an Iraqi project engineer with the Basrah Area Office.

The Iraqi engineer said USACE has linked all the interconnecting pipe work between the plant and the town water network and that two new elevated storage reservoirs standing 15 meters above ground have been installed to provide 200 cubic meters each of potable water treated with ultra-sonic technology.

“Our mission here is to provide contract oversight for the project,” said Foltz. “We’re responsible for making sure that the contractor builds the water treatment plan according to plans and specifications.” He said that “these projects involve working with and training Iraq’s workers to manage and implement their own projects.”

Foltz said the Al-Zierji project is providing local jobs as well as promising clean water for local residents. He added that this and other Corps of Engineers projects that have been completed and are under construction have positively impacted the region and will benefit the area “for decades to come.”

The Iraqi engineer said the water treatment plant has been connected to the national power grid and that a generator has been installed to ensure continuous operation.

The Iraqi engineer noted that southern Iraq long has suffered from a shortage of clean water and said the project is part of the solution. An Iraqi citizen who lives in the area said people have depended on raw water from the river and water delivered by trucks, as well as on personally carrying water by cart or in cars for many miles.

Source: http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/



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