GAZA, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Palestinian Water Authority has begun implementing emergency measures at the Sheikh Radwan pond and its associated pumping station in Gaza City, in cooperation with the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility and international partners, in an effort to reduce health and environmental risks caused by sewage flowing into the pond as the rainy season approaches.
The Sheikh Radwan pond is primarily designed to collect and drain rainwater during the winter. However, damage to sewage facilities has caused wastewater to flow into the pond, raising water levels and increasing the risk of flooding and contamination.
The pond has a capacity of approximately 500,000 cubic meters and serves an area of about 20 square kilometers of Gaza City, as well as part of the Jabalia area in the northern Gaza Strip.
Damage to pumps, electrical networks and the transmission line has reduced the station’s operational capacity to about 30%. Only two of its six pumps are currently operating, while one of its two generators has been repaired.
As part of the ongoing emergency measures, sewage pumping through two of the three pumps has been halted, while work is underway to stop the third in an effort to lower the water level in the pond and reduce the associated risks.
The next phase includes a project to rehabilitate the pumping station and transmission line, funded by the European Union and implemented by UNICEF at an estimated cost of $500,000.
The Gaza Municipality warned last May of a potential health and environmental disaster due to dangerously high sewage levels in the Sheikh Radwan pond.
Gaza Municipality spokesperson Hosni Muhanna also warned on Tuesday that the city’s ability to dispose of sewage had sharply declined after operating pumping stations were targeted, raising the risk of an environmental crisis threatening the coastal area.
The Gaza Municipalities Union had previously warned on August 18 that the Strip’s water and sewage system was on the verge of collapse, saying the consequences could affect the entire population and critical infrastructure.
According to figures from Gaza’s Government Media Office, widespread infrastructure damage during the war has destroyed 655,000 linear meters of sewage networks.
Data from the United Nations, European Union and World Bank also indicate that around 90% of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged, including desalination plants, wells, pipelines and sewage networks.
The worsening water and sewage crisis, combined with displacement and overcrowding in tents and temporary shelters, has increased health risks, including respiratory illnesses, skin diseases and diarrhea.
Doctors Without Borders has previously called for adequate water supplies to be restored for Gaza’s population and urged international actors to remove obstacles preventing the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Sheikh Ajleen sewage line rehabilitation
Alongside the emergency work at the Sheikh Radwan pond, the Gaza Municipality is continuing efforts to rehabilitate the main sewage transmission line leading to the treatment plant in the Sheikh Ajleen area after it sustained extensive damage from Israeli bombardment during the war.
The rehabilitation work aims to restore the flow of sewage toward the treatment plant and stop wastewater from being diverted into the Sheikh Radwan pond. It is also intended to reduce sewage overflows and the resulting health and environmental risks facing residents.
The work is being carried out amid widespread destruction of Gaza City’s sewage networks, pumping stations and other infrastructure, which has deepened the health and environmental crisis and increased the urgent need to restore the system and prevent further deterioration.
