Three large sewage treatment plants - the Rustimiyah North, Rustimiyah South, and Kerkh – protect the Tigris River from sewage produced by 75-80% of Baghdad’s 5.2 million residents. The mechanical and electrical equipment from all three plants has suffered from looting, a lack of spare parts, and no preventative maintenance over the past two decades. The capacity of the sewage plants has been severely reduced by these factors resulting in untreated raw sewage flowing directly into the Tigris River which endangers the health of Baghdad residents and downstream populations.

The Kerkh plant’s sewage treatment capacity meets approximately 36% of the Baghdad Municipality overall requirements. In support of the Coalition Provisional Authority’s goal to return essential services to Iraq, USAID is rehabilitating the Kerkh plant facilities to restore it to its original design capacity. Work includes cleaning the processing tanks, refurbishment of electrical and mechanical equipment, and the restoration of standby and permanent electricity to the plant, and the plant buildings.