Basra Province will soon see a dramatic increase in the availability of clean water. The $9.5 million water project will increase the Qurmat Ali water facility’s capacity from 4,000 to 16,000 cubic meters per hour.

Mahmood Lafta, Basra water directorate’s design team chief, says the facility’s production will be sufficient to meet the needs of most neighborhoods throughout Basra Province including: Az Zubair, Khor Az Zubair and Umm Qasr.

He noted that once complete, Qurmat Ali will lessen Basra’s dependence on the Sweetwater Canal pump station which is located 90 kilometers north of the city. Taking its water from the Shatt al Arab River, the water facility is located just nine kilometers north of Basra.

“Qurmat Ali will work as an alternative so if the Sweetwater Canal pump station is closed for maintenance or other reasons, the newly-expanded facility will be more than capable of providing fresh water to the people of Basra,” Engineer Lafta pointed out.

Apart from the renovation work, the project includes a new chlorine building and chlorination system, a 3,000-cubic-meter ground storage tank, a new steel intake structure, as well as two new 400-cubic-meter-per-hour water treatment units. The Iraqi crew is currently installing a new switch gear room, two five-megavolt amp transformers, and four new one-megavolt back-up generators.

“We are very satisfied with the construction quality and our engineers are getting more experience by working side-by-side with the contractor’s staff which will ensure a successful transition once the project is finished,” Engineer Lafta said.

“This is an important improvement for Basra’s 2.5 million residents who will now have two independent sources of water for their household needs,” Engineer Lafta concluded.

Providing contract over-watch for this project, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region Division is helping to jump start Iraq’s economy and to build a strong foundation for the country’s success by hiring locals to perform the work and purchasing materials for the project within the country. Since the project began in January 2008, about 70 local Iraqis were employed on the construction crew and the materials were purchased from businesses in the area.

MNF-I
By A. Al Bahrani
Gulf Region South district