An agreement between the Water Authority and the Energy Authority to supply seawater desalination plants with electricity around the clock, raising their production capacity to 22,000 m3.
Agreement to Supply Seawater Desalination Plants with Electric Power Around the Clock
Gaza – CMWU
CMWU's Executive Director Eng. Monther Shoblaq announced that, based on the agreement signed between the Water Authority and the Energy Authority, the supply of electric power around the clock to the seawater desalination plant in Al-Sudaniya "Al-Forousiya" area north of the Gaza Strip, the Central desalination plant in Deir al-Balah, and the Southern desalination plant has begun, in order to cover the shortfall in water supplies to Gaza city and the Central and Southern governorates.
In turn, CMWU's Deputy Executive Director for Operations and Maintenance Eng. Omar Shatat stated that the benefiting plants (Al-Sudaniya north – Al-Bassa and the South in Deir al-Balah) had previously been operating at half their production capacity due to prolonged power outages.
Shatat explained that the agreement will increase the production capacity of these plants to reach 22,000 cubic meters of water, noting that Al-Forousiya plant's capacity reaches 10,000 if supplied with electricity 24 hours a day, and serves 200,000 residents of west Gaza city, while Al-Bassa plant's full capacity reaches 6,000 cubic meters of water, serving 80,000 people from Al-Zawayda areas and some areas of Deir al-Balah.
He explained that the Southern plant, on Al-Rashid Street opposite the Marine Club in Deir al-Balah, will operate at its full capacity of 6,000 cubic meters, serving 250,000 people from areas west of Khan Younis and Rafah, noting that this plant's capacity will be increased to reach 20,000 cubic meters of desalinated water next year.
Ms. Hala Al-Zabda, Assistant Chairman of the Energy Authority, said there are several areas in the Gaza Strip suffering from water scarcity and salinity, which prompted the Energy Authority and CMWU to agree to address this matter, and work on supplying these plants with electricity around the clock.
Al-Zabda added that the areas that will benefit are located west of Gaza city (Al-Shati camp and Sheikh Radwan), Deir al-Balah city, Al-Zawayda village in the Central Governorate, and west of Khan Younis and Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, noting that the two plants have been excluded from the load schedule applied by the electricity distribution company.
In this context, CMWU calls on residents to commit to paying their monthly water bill on its due dates, in order to strengthen the operational sustainability of these vital facilities and continue operating them to ensure the continued supply of desalinated water to residents, particularly after the improvement in service in the areas fed with water by the plants, as they effectively work to ease the water crisis and improve the water service provided to residents in various areas of the Gaza Strip, in addition to contributing to easing the burden on the groundwater aquifer, which represents the sole source of water in the Strip.
