Gaza- water authority

Water Authority and the Coastal Municipalities undertaking inaugurated the largest mural about water in Gaza City -in Palestine, , funded by the "UNICEF" as part of the awareness programs carried out by institutions working in water sector to shed light on the water situation in Palestine and the efforts made to face the water crisis in Gaza Strip since  years.

Eng.Rebhi-Sheikh - Deputy Head of the Water Authority, Eng. Munther Shiblak -Coastal Municipalities undertaking manager, And Tania McBride- director of the "UNICEF" office in Gaza, delivered speeches in the occasion explaining the importance of such events to give attention to the water issues that affect all aspects of life.

AlSheikh said that deterioration of the water situation in Gaza is obvious, and that the water authority is working with all stakeholders to counter this decline by programs that seek to find alternative sources of water and the preserve of the aquifer which  is the main source of water  from collapse, which will affect the lives and the safety of more than 1.8 million people living  in Gaza.

He explained  that these programs include seawater desalination project, which was launched at an accelerating pace, despite all the challenges, especially the siege over Gaza, and also the  sewage treatment programs ,and re-use of treated water in agriculture, which will contribute providing  citizens' with addition amounts of  potable water.

He explained the need to increase the awareness activities to enhance public awareness and motivate everyone to collaborate in order to accelerate the work in order to solve the water crisis, calling on all stakeholders and donors to contribute with the Water Authority and other institutions working in the water sector in Palestine to achieve this goal, which consequences will appear soon.

Al Sheikh praised the work of the Water Authority’s team and the young artists who implemented the work and UNICEF for its support of this activity, noting that the mural addresses an important topic which is the employees with different  specialization and skills in  water sector in different  governmental and quasi-governmental organizations, local and international ,private sector and civil institutions, stressing the importance of their role in the development of this sector .

The mural was carried out by a team of artists headed by painter Bilal Khalid, and spread over a wall of 20 meters long  and10 meters width in the  central  of Gaza City, during two weeks, and included a basic message on the occasion of World Water in the  current year which its logo was "water and jobs "focusing on the employees  and institutions working in the water sector to secure safe, convenient and suitable  water sources for citizens.

This comes as recognition and appreciation of the effort being made by employees in this vital sector on one hand and drew the world attention to the water programs and improving  the conditions of workers in this sector in order to provide better service for the benefit of homeland and citizens ,on the other hand .and to implement  the slogan of the mural " working for you and for a better future."