WATER KNOWLEDGE NOTE



Iraq
Interventions to Urgently Improve the
Quantity and Quality of Drinking Water
Due to years of conflict and political
instability, Iraq has long faced complex
institutional challenges. Water and sanitation
services were sorely lacking, posing a threat
to public health and quality of life. With a
comprehensive approach that included
supporting state-level management of
water supply and sanitation services,
the Emergency Water Supply Project
(2008–15) improved the quality and
quantity of water supply across four
regions in Iraq.

Challenge
For the past 20 years, Iraq’s human development
indicators decreased due to political instability, growing
population, and economic sanctions. Persistent war,
illiteracy, and high poverty rates present additional
challenges to the country. Water and sanitation service
delivery have particularly suffered, with deteriorated


                                                             © World Bank.
infrastructure and inadequate policy frameworks. Many                       Results
governorates (provinces) in Iraq have limited access to
potable water, sanitation, and electricity. Less than 70                    With a targeted approach, the Emergency Water Supply
percent of the urban population had access to potable water,                Project contributed to the recovery of water supply
and rural areas were even worse off with approximately 48                   infrastructure across the four selected governorates. From
percent coverage. Outside of Baghdad, as little as eight                    the project start in 2008 to project closure in 2015, the
percent of the population was connected to sewerage                         following key results were observed:
systems.                                                                    •	 More than 192,400 people across four governorates
                                                                               benefitted from improved quantity and quality of
Insufficient water supply and sanitation compound existing                     water supplies;
issues of an overburdened health system and compromised                     •	 The project resulted in the addition of approximately
environmental quality. Old and malfunctioning water                            75,000 meters cubed per day of safe drinking water;
supply schemes characterized the Iraqi landscape and                        •	 More than 78 kilometers of new transmission piping
building national capacity for water and sanitation services                   and distribution networks were distributed across the
was therefore an issue of strategic national importance.                       project areas;
                                                                            •	 11,000 new piped household water connections
Approach                                                                       resulted from the project interventions;
                                                                            •	 3,900 new piped household water connections benefitted
Investments in water supply and sanitation services have
                                                                               from rehabilitation works undertaken by the project; and
the capacity to address many issues at once for maximum
                                                                            •	 118 water and sanitation staff members were trained to
impact, ranging from improving living standards to
                                                                               enhance local capacity to plan and operate vital assets.
avoiding public health crises. To this end, four Iraqi towns
and districts, as well as their surrounding communities,
were identified at the appraisal stage as being in urgent                   Moving Forward
need of interventions to provide clean drinking water and                   Problems with security and public-sector governance
sewage collection: Wasit district (in the Wasit governorate);               persist in Iraq. However, the project left a positive legacy
Ghammas (in the Al-Qadisiyah governorate); Al-Nasr (in                      by providing Iraqi water providers and practitioners with
the Thi-Qar governorate); and Maimoona (in the Maysan                       the opportunity to independently design, implement, and
governorate).                                                               manage water supply schemes.

With the overall aim of providing safe drinking water and                   The Iraqi government aims to continue the project momentum
adequate sewage collection to vulnerable populations, the                   by upgrading services in other parts of the country in
project focused on rehabilitating and upgrading water                       cooperation with interested development partners. Given the
supply and distribution schemes. To continue the project’s                  foundation of construction and rehabilitation work provided
benefits, it also emphasized capacity building activities to                through project activities, work opportunities were created
improve long-term reliance on Iraqi water and sanitation                    for multiple individuals to operate and maintain the water
professionals.                                                              and sanitation facilities moving forward.


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