Costruction of a sea water desalination plant and requalification of existing plants in Khan Yunis

Due to Difficulties Arisen by Entering Instruments And Machinery In Gaza Strip Caused By Israeli Firms Winner Of Procurement, Ciss Had To Conclude Prematurely Its Project Without Have Achieved Planned Objectives.

The project is divided into several stages:

1. the requalification of two desalination plants of reverse osmosis (R.O.) created by CISS in 1998/1999 in Khan Yunis (Gaza Strip), with founds of Italian cooperation and the safeguard the only one source of drinking water which is available in the Municipality.

2. the building of the first desalination plan of reverse osmosis in Rafah (Gaza Strip), which could constitute an important source of drinking water for Rafah Municipality, this source serves a population of around 120.000 people.

Gaza Strip is part of Palestinian Territory occupied by Israel in 1967 and by that moment Palestinian population is enormously grown, without the chance of programm and organize their services.

Today the whole population present in Gaza Strip ammount to almost one million and 500.000 people, placed in an area long 40 Km and large from 6 to 14 Km. Over 80% of population lives in overpopulated urban areas, which include refugee settlements in the urban context. The most important urban center, in order of demographic importance, are: Gaza City (around 600.000 in.), Khan Yunis (around 150.000 in.), and Rafah (around 120.000 in.).

In Gaza Strip from 75% to 80% of water is placed over qualitative standards recommended by World Heath Organization and many times dramatically moving away, with concentration of chlorides and nitrates which arrive till 5-10 times over admitted top-levels. The problem assumes very serious features due to the continuous growth of values of pollutants: in most cases it leads to the closing of wells used for population supply, even after few years of exploitation.

Khan Yunis plants are seriously damaged by the wearing effect of time and lack of maintenance on the part of Palestinian body in charge of their management. Existing plants partially work: the former for the 30% of its potential and the latter for the 60% of its potential, but both will further worsen in their performances if will be no rapid intervention. Two desalination plants of reverse osmosis (R.O.) realized by CISS in Khan Yunis in 1998/1999, guarantee yearly around one million of cubic meter of drinking water which is mixing in water web with waters which contain a more high level of saltiness and that come from other sources, just resulting in a drinking product which is within WHO standards and able to cover the 70% - 80% of citizens’ needs. The rest of city uses the discontinuous distribution, through the two distribution station and through public or private auto-bottles.

The CISS emergency project will involve at the same time the Rafah Community (Gaza Strip), which suffer of the same lack of drinking water that trouble the whole area, but that has no desalination plants.
The situation of the city and of Rafah Municipality is, without doubts, very serious and it involves an area which includes over 170.000 inhabitants, at the moment supplied by 18 wells. The water given to population not respect the drinking water requirements and for this reason, the current situation in Rafah is very similar to that of Khan Yunis before the intervention of Italian cooperation.

Partners: Khan Yunis Municipality, Rafah Municipality, Costal Municipalities Water Utility.