نداء عاجل: غزة تغرق في مياه الصرف الصحي والتلوث

#Urgent_Appeal
Gaza is Drowning in Sewage and Pollution

Amid the ongoing suffering and tragedy affecting all aspects of life in the Gaza Strip, Gaza is facing an unprecedented and continuing humanitarian, environmental, and public health catastrophe. This crisis is driven by the collapse and destruction of sewage collection, pumping, and treatment systems, leading to the uncontrolled discharge of untreated wastewater in all directions. This has resulted in the contamination of the groundwater aquifer and coastal waters, posing a grave threat to the lives of more than two million people, including residents and displaced populations living under dire conditions.

Catastrophic Situation:
• Most sewage pumping stations—78 in total—have ceased operation (only 16 are currently functioning), along with all five wastewater treatment plants, due to the total or partial destruction of collection networks, pumping systems, and treatment facilities.
• The continued prevention of the entry of machinery, equipment, pumps, generators, pipes, fittings, and essential materials required for repair and maintenance of damaged facilities, in addition to the severe shortage and depletion of spare parts, consumables, and generator lubricants, has led to the discharge of tens of thousands of cubic meters of raw, untreated sewage daily. This wastewater is being released directly into the groundwater aquifer, valleys, camp streets, and along Gaza’s coastline.
• More than 15,000 cubic meters of contaminated sewage per day are infiltrating into the sole groundwater aquifer in Gaza through cesspits, rendering the water unfit for human use. Salinity levels, along with bacterial and chemical contamination, have risen to dangerous and potentially lethal levels across various areas, especially in densely populated communities and coastal displacement camps.
• Approximately 40,000 cubic meters of untreated sewage are being discharged daily into the sea, causing severe marine pollution and turning the coastline into a hazardous environment. This has deprived children, families, and displaced people of even the most basic opportunities for survival and fishing, and has led to the death of large numbers of fish and marine life.
Health and Environmental Consequences:
• The spread of infectious diseases such as acute diarrhea, viral hepatitis, and other severe illnesses among residents and displaced populations, particularly children, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals.
• A rise in skin infections and respiratory diseases due to exposure to sewage in residential areas and informal settlements.
• A real and imminent threat of disease outbreaks at any moment, especially with rising temperatures, the collapse of the healthcare system, and shortages of medicines and medical supplies.
• A long-term environmental disaster that may take decades to reverse, including the destruction of marine and terrestrial biodiversity and the contamination of soil and crops.

#Urgent_Appeal:
The Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) calls upon all international and humanitarian organizations, governments, and human rights and environmental bodies—everyone concerned—to intervene immediately to save Gaza from this ongoing humanitarian, environmental, and public health disaster, through:
1. Providing spare parts, equipment, materials, and machinery necessary for the urgent repair, rehabilitation, and operation of sewage pumping stations, treatment plants, and sewer networks.
2. Allowing the entry of consumables and essential materials needed to sustain the operation of the remaining, severely strained and deteriorating infrastructure, and to mitigate the severity of the crisis.
3. Facilitating the entry of mobile desalination units with all required accessories, as well as vacuum trucks, sewer cleaning equipment, wastewater pumps, electricity generators and their accessories, and ensuring the distribution of safe drinking water to the population.
4. Supplying personal protective equipment (PPE), disinfectants, sanitization tools, and essential medical supplies needed to treat diseases caused by pollution.
5. Exerting pressure to secure resources for sustainable wastewater treatment solutions and to rescue the groundwater aquifer and the sea from the ongoing catastrophic contamination.
In this context, the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility appeals to your humanitarian conscience above all else. Gaza is drowning in sewage, and its people are facing a slow death—either from untreatable diseases or from the lack of safe drinking water.