key objectives in helping to rebuild Iraq are the restoration of the country’s water and sanitation systems, and ensuring a reliable supply of potable water to the Iraqi people.

The average daily availability of water services in Iraq is one-hour above pre-war levels. Over 90 percent of the urban population is thought to have access to water, but quantities per capita are insufficient. It is estimated that 60 percent of the overall population has access to potable water. In many neighbourhoods, leaking pipes have contaminated potable water networks.

Iraq’s water treatment system consists of 218 traditional water treatment plants and 1,191 mobile compact plants, the latter mainly serving rural areas. The water distribution system in Baghdad consists of the nine charge dams, 18 major barrages and 275 pump stations. The equipment used in these pump stations is more than 20 years old and in need of overhaul or repairs.