Gaza water supplies in danger of 'collapse': UN

Jerusalem (AFP) Sept 14, 2009 – The Gaza Strip’s underground water supplies are “in danger of collapse” following years of overuse and a devastating war Israel waged in the territory at the turn of the year, the UN said Monday. “The underground water supplies, upon which 1.5 million Palestinians depend for agriculture and drinking water, are in danger of collapse,” the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a statement accompanying a new report. “Unless the trend is reversed now, damage could take centuries to reverse. Since the aquifer is a continuum with Israel and Egypt, such action must be coordinated with these countries,” the report says. … The UN report estimates that restoring the aquifer beneath Gaza could require 1.5 billion dollars (a billion euros) over 20 years, including the construction of desalination plants to take pressure off underground sources. The report said overextraction was causing seawater to seep into the freshwater aquifer, sending salinity levels across the territory above the 250 milligrammes per litre considered safe by the World Health Organisation (WHO). …

Gaza water supplies in danger of ‘collapse’: UN