Global Waters Radio: Nader Al-Khateeb on West Bank Water Security and the Deir Sha’ar Pipeline
“I think this pipeline is a real accomplishment, and USAID is leading the investment in the water sector and the improvement of the water supply.”
Nader Al-Khateeb is a founding member of the Palestinian Water Authority, who today serves as Palestinian Director for EcoPeace, a regional environmental NGO with offices in the West Bank, Jordan, and Israel. In his recent interview with Global Waters Radio, Al-Khateeb discusses the recent opening of the Deir Sha’ar pipeline, which now carries 18,000 cubic meters of potable water every day into Hebron Governorate in the southern West Bank and improves water security for 260,000 residents. The $16.5 million pipeline is one of USAID’s largest water sector investments in the West Bank in ten years.
“The Deir Sha’ar makes sure you can convey more water in a shorter period and react according to the demands, because water supply remains an intermittent system in Palestine. But having such a pipeline will help you to transfer larger amounts of water in shorter periods so you can react to serious water shortages. So it allows you to better manage your limited water resources.”
Al-Khateeb tells Global Waters Radio the new pipeline will improve water-use efficiency, since the pipeline is equipped with a state-of-the-art monitoring system that detects leaks and illegal connections. Those problems — which caused Deir Sha’ar’s predecessor pipeline to lose nearly half of its total water volume during transit in recent years — are now reported directly to a West Bank Water Department control room, where local water managers can quickly dispatch crews to respond to any problems. The new system, Al-Khateeb says, ensures that “there is no abuse of this water.” To listen to the full podcast, please click below.
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Global Waters Radio is a podcast series produced by the Water Team at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The series offers listeners insights from USAID officials, development partners, thought leaders and experts from across the water sector as they discuss current USAID water programming and cutting-edge research from around the world. Have a topic you would like to see covered in a future Global Waters Radio podcast? Please contact us at waterteam@usaid.gov, and follow us on Twitter @USAIDWater.
