Report No. 47657-GZ WEST BANK AND GAZA ASSESSMENT OF RESTRICTIONS ON PALESTINIAN WATER SECTOR DEVELOPMENT Sector Note April 2009 Middle East and North Africa Region Sustainable Development The World Bank ©2009 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank 1818 H Street NW Washington DC 20433 Telephone: +1 202 473 1000 Internet: www.worldbank.org E-mail: [email protected] All rights reserved This volume is a product of the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of The World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. 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All other queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to the Office of the Publisher, The World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA, fax 202-522-2422, e-mail [email protected] Cover photos Clockwise from top left: • Partially treated sewage discharge in Gaza’s Beit Lahia disposal ponds (source: Z. Abu-Hassanein) • Girl drinking water from a community water pipe (Source: D. Sansoni / World Bank) • Reflection of the Separation Barrier in a Bethlehem stormwater puddle (source: S. Ruckstuhl) • Farmer walking past a drip-irrigated cabbage field in Gaza (source: World Bank). West Bank and Gaza Assessment of Restrictions on Palestinian Water Sector Development Main Report Table of Contents Acronyms Acknowledgements Executive Summary .........................................................................................................iii Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 Part I. The current situation in the Palestinian water sector ........................................ 9 A. Overall and West Bank ..................................................................................... 9 1. Water resources and abstractions in the West Bank ...................................... 9 2. The water supply situation in the West Bank .............................................. 14 3. The sanitation situation in the West Bank ................................................... 20 4. Costs, water quality and health impacts....................................................... 21 5. The situation of water for agriculture .......................................................... 25 B. Gaza ................................................................................................................ 27 6. The water resource situation in Gaza........................................................... 27 7. The water supply situation in Gaza.............................................................. 28 8. The sanitation situation in Gaza................................................................... 30 9. Health and environmental impacts in Gaza ................................................. 30 10. The situation of water for agriculture in Gaza............................................. 31 Part II. Principal causes of the current situation ...................................................... 33 A. Failings in water resources development and management............................ 33 11. The difficulty of integrated management of the resource in the West Bank within the current governance framework ................................................... 33 12 Inadequate development of new West Bank water resources...................... 35 13 Sub-optimal yield of developed resources and dependence on Mekorot .... 38 B. Low investment and weak management of West Bank water services .......... 39 14. Underinvestment in West Bank water supply and sanitation infrastructure 39 15. Sub-optimal management of service provision in the West Bank............... 42 C. Underinvestment in Gaza................................................................................ 44 16. Planning and investment for water supply and sanitation in Gaza.............. 44 Part III. Constraints to improved investment and management ............................... 47 A. Constraints stemming from Oslo, the occupation and the M&A restrictions. 47 17. The workings of the Joint Water Committee (JWC) ................................... 47 18. The Civil Administration and Movement and Access (M&A) restrictions. 53 B. Constraints stemming from Palestinian institutional weaknesses .................. 56 19. The Palestinian Water Law and water sector organization.......................... 56 20. PWA: Powers, performance, capacity and constraints ............................... 57 21. Water resource access within the West Bank .............................................. 59 22. Water supply institutions ............................................................................. 60 C. Constraints related to development partners................................................... 61 23. Donor constraints in investment and implementation ................................. 61 24. NGOs and EWASH ..................................................................................... 63 D. Gaza ................................................................................................................ 64 25. PWA in Gaza ............................................................................................... 64 26. The CMWU ................................................................................................. 65 IV. Conclusion: Towards an Agenda .......................................................................... 67 Bibliography Annexes Acronyms AHLC Ad Hoc Liaison Committee CA Civil Administration CAP Consolidated Appeal for Palestine CMWU Coastal Municipalities Water Utility COGAT Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories DCA Department of Civil Administration DCL District coordination liaison ECHO European Community Humanitarian Aid Department EWASH Emergency Water and Sanitation Group GDP Gross Domestic Product GNI Gross National Income IDF Israeli Defense Force IWA Israeli Water Authority JSC Joint Service Council JSET Joint Supervision and Enforcement Team JWC Joint Water Committee JWU Jerusalem Water Undertaking Lpcd Liters per capita per day M&A Movement and Access M&I Municipal and industrial MAS Palestinian Economic Policy Research Institute MCM Millions of cubic meters MO Military Order MoA Ministry of Agriculture MoP Ministry of Planning NGO Non-governmental organization NIS New Israeli shekel NSU Negotiations Support Unit NWC National Water Council OCHA Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs PA Palestinian Authority PCBS Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics PHG Palestine Hydrology Group PMU Project Management Unit PRDP Palestinian Reform and Development Plan PSIA Poverty and Social Impact Analysis PWA Palestinian Water Authority SWAp Sector Wide Approach UFW Unaccounted-for water UNDP United Nations Development Program UNRWA United Nations Relief and Works Agency USAID United States Agency for International Development WaSH MP Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Monitoring Program WBG West Bank and Gaza WBWD West Bank Water Department WHO World Health Organization WSWG Water Sector Working Group Vice president : Daniela Gressani Country Director: A. David Craig Sector Director : Laszlo Lovei Sector Manager : Narasimham Vijay Jagannathan Task Team Leaders : Pier Francesco Mantovani, Sabine Beddies Acknowledgements This study could not have been conducted without the commitment and active support of very many partners, in the Palestinian community, within Israel, amongst donors. Particular thanks are due to the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA), and especially: Dr. Shaddad Al-Attili (Chairman), Rebhy El-Sheikh (Deputy Chairman); Eng. Aiman Jarrar (General Director of Water Control and study focal point); Dr. Karen Assaf (Special Adviser); Kamal Issa (Director of Tariffs), Yousef Awayes, (Director International Coordination), Jamal Al-Dadah, (Head of Planning Gaza), Ahmad Yaqouby (General Director Gaza), Mohammad Muqayyad, Waleed Abu Mushin (Head of GIS), Ahmad Yacoubi, Saleh Hamad (Licensing Committee). Eng. Ihab Barghouthi (PMU Director), Eng. Deeb Abdel-Ghafour (Director of Water Resources Development Department); Eng. Mohammad Ja’as (General Director, WBWD); Omar M. Zayed (Deputy Director General of Water Resources), Sadi R. Ali (PMU Director Gaza). At the Ministry of Planning, our thanks go to Dr. Cairo Arafat (General Director of Aid Management and Coordination); Waddah Hamdallah (Deputy Director