Kirkuk Water Treatment Plant Reopens

Kirkuk Water Treatment Plant Reopens

Providing potable water to over one million residents.

The United States Agency for International Development recently completed a $4.1 million refurbishment of the Kirkuk Unified Water Treatment Plant, benefiting over one million residents of Kirkuk City and its surroundings.

Construction of Kirkuk's Unified Water Treatment Plant began in the early 1980s, but was interrupted due to the conflicts with Iran and Kuwait. In 1993, the plant was completed and commissioned. After several years of operation, however, pipe and tank leaks began contributing to foundation and structural problems.

Prior to USAID's refurbishment project, which began in January of 2004, the plant's production was approximately 22 million gallons of water per day. Furthermore, the plant did not consistently produce potable water because of system failures and operational deficiencies. Following a year of reengineering, the Kirkuk Water Treatment Plant is capable of delivering 95 million gallons of potable water each day. The plant will permanently employ approximately 100 Iraqis. Approximately one million dollars worth of operational spare parts, tools, and safety equipment used in the upgrade were transferred to the Ministry of Water upon completion.

The success of this project is in large part a result of a strong and productive relationship established between USAID, Bechtel, and the Iraqi Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works' Directorate of Water.

In a recent letter, the Director of the Kirkuk Water Directorate conveyed his appreciation: "I would like to express my personal gratitude, and on behalf of the entire population of the city of Kirkuk extend our sincere appreciation for the assistance and reconstruction work you have provided to the Kirkuk Unified Water Treatment Plant. Without the USAID sponsored reconstruction project, the plant would have been out of operation within a short time and the population of Kirkuk would have been without potable water."

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