October 7, 2008

Bani Naim, West Bank – The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) held an inauguration ceremony on Tuesday for the Eastern Hebron Bulk Water Supply Project, which will significantly improve the quality and quantity of drinking water in the Southern West Bank. The Minister of Local Government Ziad Al Bandak, Governor of Hebron Hussein Al Araj, the Chairman of Palestinian Water Authority Shaddad Attili and the Mayors of the benefiting communities attended the event, together with USAID Mission Director Howard Sumka, and a number of other American and Palestinian officials.

During the event, USAID officially handed over the $45 million water project to the Palestinian Water Authority, which will oversee its operations. The project will increase the supply and distribution of potable water in the Hebron Governorate, benefiting 550,000 Palestinians, who have suffered from limited water resources.

“The U.S. Government is committed to developing the Palestinian economy and improving the well-being of the Palestinian people. Water and infrastructure projects, such as this one for Eastern Hebron, are vital to the people of the region and to laying the foundations for continued improvement to their lives,” said USAID Mission Director Howard Sumka.

The Eastern Hebron Bulk Water Supply Project, which includes two deep groundwater wells, two water pumping stations, 3 reservoirs, 33 kilometers of water pipelines and 11 kilometers of electrical power transmission lines, will provide 2.3 million cubic meters of drinking water per year and has the potential to reach a yearly capacity of 5 million cubic meters with further well development.

The water project will be operated through the computerized Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) System, which is the first of its kind in the West Bank. This system will provide automatic and accurate control of all project water distribution functions and can be controlled by a few engineering staff.

USAID has invested over $300 million towards improving water services and infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the past twelve years.

Since 1993, USAID has provided more than $1.7 billion in U.S. economic assistance to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza via projects designed to combat poverty, improve health and education, create jobs, and promote democracy and good governance.