QNA/Doha
In preparation for the coming winter, Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has initiated a new water and sanitation project to prevent the flooding of houses and shops during the rainy season.
The $3mn project is co-funded by the Programme of the Gulf Cooperation Council for the Reconstruction of Gaza, under the supervision of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), and QRCS.
Engineer Khaled Zidane, infrastructure and construction officer at QRCS Gaza Office, said: “As part of its continuous work in Palestine, QRCS has begun a project to develop Asqula Endowment Pond, Gaza City, construct a rainwater capture and storage system in Beer Al-Naaja, Jabalia, and re-use the collected water in Khan Younis.”
As planned, Zidane stated, more than 1.2mn cubic metres of rainwater will be collected per year and injected into Gaza’s groundwater, to reverse overuse.
The project will cover land in Asqula Endowment District, eastern Gaza City.
To protect parts of the city against flooding, one-third of rainwater will be stored in Asqula Pond, instead of letting it flow towards Sheikh Radwan Pond, central Gaza. The 4-7m upper mud layer will be replaced with clean sand to allow natural filtration of rainwater into groundwater. Also a public park will be established to serve the overpopulated, underdeveloped area.
In Beer Al-Naaja, a series of rainwater filtration wells will be constructed to produce 700,000 cubic metres of drinking water per year, or 70,000 water cups per day.
In Khan Younis, additional 3,000 cubic metres per day will be treated at the governorate’s water treatment station, which produces almost 12,000 cubic metres of treated water that end up directly in the sea.
These huge amounts of water will be re-used to irrigate more than fruit trees in Al-Mawasi District, western Khan Younis.
The design and architectural schemes are in progress and expected to be completed within three months. Then, a public tender will be floated to award the one-year contract to a construction contractor.
