Palestian hydrological group for the preservation of water dedicated to consumption and agriculture

Context

The water situation is deteriorating rapidly in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. According to the Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories (B'Telem) in 2017, in Gaza more than 90% of the water supply is polluted and undrinkable. The situation is exacerbated by Israel's periodic military aggressions, which have damaged the wastewater treatment infrastructure. An initial Damage Assessment Report (DAR) carried out by the Coastal Municipal Water Utility (CMWU) in 2014 shows that 12% of Gaza's wells were destroyed or damaged during Israeli bombardments.

On the other hand, the only natural source of water is the coastal aquifer formed by layers of water-impregnated sediment a few dozen metres underground. It is fed mainly by the 20 to 40 cm of water that falls each year on the 360 km2 of the Gaza Strip and by run-off from Israel. Most of the rainfall evaporates, while the rest infiltrates the sandy soil and reaches the aquifer. In total, the aquifer is recharged each year by between 75 and 125 million cubic metres (Mm3).

More and more water is being drawn from the aquifer, and salt water is gradually filling the gap. In 2003, almost 90% of wells had a salinity higher than the maximum recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The aquifer is also polluted by nitrates, a phenomenon caused by discharges from farming and sewage systems. Excessive salt content is one of the main concerns with water used for irrigation. High salt concentrations in water or soil adversely affect crop yields, leading to soil degradation and groundwater pollution. These effects have a direct impact on soil fertility and crop yields, and threaten food security.

Preserving water resources is vital to ensure that the population has enough water to drink, and also to support the country's agriculture. It is therefore a political, economic and environmental imperative that has been present in Palestine for decades.

In this context, the Palestinian Hydrology Group (PHG), a specialised independent institution dedicated to the development and protection of water and environmental resources, was founded in 1987.

The project

Given the critical water situation, the PHG wants to develop other ways of exploiting natural resources, create rainwater basin systems to improve the supply of water for irrigation and domestic use, and promote new technologies and techniques to improve practices for conserving water and scarce resources in terms of quantity and quality.

The PHG has several intervention strands, such as the Wash system:

• The project aims to improve the water situation in rural areas of the occupied Palestinian territories. The aim is to build grey water treatment units for families living in rural areas, in order to solve sanitation problems while obtaining water for gardening and irrigation.
• The second action is to rehabilitate or build rainwater harvesting tanks to enable families to obtain more water for domestic use, particularly in areas where water is frequently cut off in summer and families are forced to buy bottled water, which is trucked in and extremely expensive.
• Strengthening food security by improving access to water: the inhabitants of the occupied village of Sarta, located in the Salfit governorate in the West Bank, face daily problems of access to water. The aim of the project is to reduce this constant threat to water supplies, in particular by creating wells and rainwater harvesting tanks.

The PHG has a total of 9 entry points for preserving and improving the management of natural resources in Palestine: washing, food security, agriculture, livelihoods, sustainable development, renewable energy, research and studies, awareness-raising, training and capacity-building, and climate change.

Who is it for ?

Given the diversity of its projects, PHG works both for civil society and marginalised people (isolated women, precarious rural families in the occupied Palestinian territories), and for professionals (farmers wishing to sustainably improve and renew their water supply practices, municipal staff, etc.).

With whom ?

The Palestinian Hydrological Group has a number of private and public partners, including the Water Quality Association, the Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO), the Arab NGO Network for Development (Annd), and others.

Results

In 2021, 790m of irrigation pipes were laid to improve irrigation and supply new areas in the north of the West Bank. In addition, 11 cisterns with a capacity of 70m3 were rehabilitated and rebuilt to collect a further 770m3 of rainwater in the Hebron and Auja regions. The company also built and rehabilitated 12 domestic water supply systems. Finally, to improve the livelihoods and land protection of small farmers, around 6,375 olive trees were planted and distributed in 16 locations in the West Bank. 1,835 families have directly benefited from this project and 429 dunums have been planted with these trees.

Little extra

The PhG works with players in the Social Solidarity Economy, citizens and local authorities to help develop social policies capable of combating poverty, inequality, social exclusion and environmental unsustainability, strengthening local resilience and moving towards a more socially just, sustainable and ecological transition. A pilot solid waste management project in the town of Bitello in Ramallah has been implemented in Palestine. This project is also being deployed in 6 other countries in the Mediterranean basin.

This initiative sheet was written by Nadja Camille, Project Manager at LFC in February 2023.

Sources

• https://ejatlas.org/conflict/gazas-water-supply-under-threat/?translate=fr
• https://news.un.org/fr/story/2019/03/1038951
• https://www.lefigaro.fr/sciences/2006/08/26/01008-20060826ARTFIG90502-
• l_avenir_incertain_de_la_nappe_phreatique_de_gaza.php
• https://www.phg.org/articles/view/3
• https://www.btselem.org/water

Last modification : 12 Jun 2023.