CMWU warns of the repercussions of the worsening electricity crisis on water and sanitation facilities, and appeals to international organizations to provide the fuel needed to operate backup generators.
CMWU Warns of the Repercussions of the Continuing Worsening Electricity Crisis on the Operation of Water and Sanitation Facilities
Gaza – CMWU
CMWU warned of the repercussions of the continuing worsening electricity crisis on the operation of water and sanitation facilities in various areas of the Gaza Strip, particularly after the power generation plant stopped operating today, amid the unavailability of sufficient quantities of fuel needed to operate backup electric generators at water and sanitation facilities during the power outage.
The prolonged power outage will also lead to significant repercussions directly affecting residents' lives, such as the prolonged interruption of water to many areas, in addition to a decline in the capabilities of CMWU and the municipalities to collect, pump, and treat wastewater, which warns of the possibility of sewage overflow, particularly in geographically low-lying areas.
It is worth noting that the various facilities of the water and sanitation sector rely mainly on electric power for their management, and any disruption in the electricity system directly affects the level of services.
CMWU emphasized that the continuation of the power outage crisis warns of a real crisis that will lead to a significant decline in the quality of the basic services provided to residents, and that the continuation of this crisis will lead to reducing the operation of many water wells, water pumping stations, and desalination plants to their minimum capacity, and near-complete paralysis in the processes of collecting, pumping, and treating sewage water, and the necessity of disposing of untreated sewage water via coastal pumping stations toward the sea, which warns of health and environmental problems whose consequences may not be good, affirming the need to combine all efforts by national organizations, to find an urgent and permanent solution to this recurring crisis, given the environmental and health disasters it would cause if it worsens.
CMWU also appeals to all international humanitarian and relief organizations and UN agencies to intervene urgently to provide appropriate quantities of fuel to ease the electricity outage crisis in the Gaza Strip and enable the Utility and municipalities to continue operating their vital facilities and providing their services to residents, supplying them with the necessary quantities of water for all aspects of life, and preventing an imminent health, environmental, and humanitarian disaster.
