90% of Gaza's water is polluted

An official report issued by the Palestinian Water Authority in the Gaza Strip has stated that 90% of water in the Strip is polluted posing a serious threat to the health of Palestinian citizens in the area.

The report added that water pollution has compelled Palestinian citizens in Gaza to use desalination and filtration devices in their own homes, particularly given the high concentrations of chloride in private wells, “which signifies a threat to the quality of groundwater and its effect on human health in the Gaza Strip.”

---

The Water Authority also stated that the Gaza Strip is suffering from the pollution of its ground-water reservoir as a result of the untreated sewage water, agricultural chemicals, and dangerous wastes that were discarded by Israeli settlements before their departure from Gaza. The ground-water reservoir is considered to be the only source of water supply for Gaza with more than 170 cubic meters of ground-water being withdrawn every year. However, given the low levels of rainfall, they are not being naturally replenished.

The report warned that the limitation on water sources in the Strip, as well as the lack of capability to control these sources, due to the fact that they were seized by the Israeli Occupation, increases the severity of the water crisis in Gaza.