In the southern Baghdad community of Radwaniyah, fresh water for drinking and irrigation is just a few signatures away.

In the farming communities that lie on the outskirts of Baghdad, fresh water is of the utmost importance for the people and the economic stability of the community and has a direct effect on the neighboring areas.

For the farmers in the rural community southwest of urbanized Baghdad, two serious problems are irrigation and fresh water, said Capt. Mark Miller, a spokesman for 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

Many parts of the area have a canal system running through their villages and farms, said Miller. They provide the groundwork necessary to get fresh, uncontaminated water to the farms.

“The canals are capable of providing two independent sources of water,” Miller said. “One source would provide water for crop irrigation and the other for potable water that citizens could use for drinking, cooking, and other domestic needs.”

The Government of Iraq and Iraqi Security and Coalition forces have combined their efforts to work with the residents to resolve the fresh water issue for the people of Radwaniyah.

A combat outpost in the community serves as the command center for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Battalion., 64th Armor Regiment., and as the location for meetings between community leaders, ISF, and the 1st BCT Brigade Commander, Col. Ted Martin.

Martin expressed how CF would be aggressive in helping with the cleanup effort and how he expected the same from his Iraqi counterparts, during a meeting June 21.

Capt. David Cox, an engineer and projects officer from the 64th Armor Regt. provided a detailed briefing to the leaders during the meeting.

Cox spoke specifically about the status of improvement projects for the canals and provided his recommendations for the remaining work to be done.

After the briefing concluded, everyone traveled to a location near where a fresh water canal spills into contaminated water to get a first-hand look at the issues the farming community faces.

“This way, the ISF and CF commanders were able to see the problem in person along with the GoI leaders,” Miller said.

The group also traveled to a local water treatment plant to discuss the resources needed to make the plant operational, and what it would mean to the surrounding areas.

The people would no longer have to pay import tariffs for their food from neighboring countries, said Capt. David Simms, the commander of HHC, 4th Bn., 64th Armor Regt.

“Not only will the local farmers benefit and be able to start growing crops again, but this will bring Iraqi food to Iraqi markets,” said Simms. “It stimulates their economy by bringing more jobs to the area for farmers, as well as providing food at a lower cost to the community.”

The contracts to begin the canal work are currently in the hands of the GoI and awaiting signatures.

MNF-I