Water Pollution Reaches Catastrophic Levels in Gaza

Despite the fact that August test shows decrease of pollution in compare to July but most of the coastal area are not appropriate for swimming because of high pollution.

Following the collapse of water purification facilities in Gaza and the inability to repair them due to the electricity crisis, Palestinians in the northern neighborhoods of the Gaza Strip—Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia has begun to pump sewage into the sea.

Only an estimated 3 percent of Gaza's water is suitable for drinking. The Palestinian Water Authority and the United Nations have warned that its underground water aquifer - upon which the territory is almost entirely reliant, apart from a small amount of water imported from Israel - may be completely contaminated by the end of the year. Gaza's water contains a large concentration of chloride, while infiltration of untreated sewage has raised the levels of nitrates to two to eight times higher than the World Health Organization recommends.

More and more Gazans are falling ill from their drinking water, highlighting the humanitarian issues facing the Palestinian enclave that the UN says could become uninhabitable by 2020.

The situation has already reached crisis point in the war-scarred, underdeveloped and blockaded territory, says Monther Shoblak, general manager of the strip's water utility.

"More than 97 percent of the water table is unfit for domestic use because of salinization never before seen," he said.

The United Nations puts scarcity and pollution of water resources at the forefront of Gaza's scourges.

"If the catastrophe does not arrive this year, it will surely be here within three years," said Zidane Abu Zuhri who is in charge of water issues at UNICEF, the world body's children's fund.

"Each year we see a 13-14 percent increase in the number of patients admitted with kidney problems," said Dr Abdallah al-Kishawi, head of nephrology at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.