For years, a few open sewage pools near the Bedouin Village north of Beit Lahia absorbed the sewage of the District.
These pools have resulted in serious environmental problems in the area.
Now, there is a serious risk that the pools could collapse at any time due to additional daily amounts of sewage.
On June 26, 2001, a similar sewage reservoir east of the Gaza Strip- in Israel- collapsed, with disastrous effects for the environment.
The above mentioned pools were established in 1977- when Israel had full control over the Gaza Strip- on an area of 50 dunams.
Later, they were expanded so that they became capable of absorbing approximately 300 - 400 million cubic meters of sewage.
In 1997, the Palestinian Ministry of Housing relocated close to 6,000 people in the Bedouin Village to an area near the pools in order to build the town of Sheikh Zayid on their land.
Al Mezan has contacted the Ministries of Housing and Environment and organized public meetings in the Bedouin Village to discuss the severity of the problem.
However, no significant changes have taken place.
It should be pointed out that the pools are a serious threat to the underground water in the area.
Several water-wells in the area, once used for human consumption, have either been closed or redirected to agricultural use due to pollution.
The water-well in the Bedouin Village itself was one of these cases.
Despite the fact that Israel directly prevented a resolution to the problem by prohibiting the completion of a pipeline that would transfer the sewage to the sea, Al Mezan maintains that the Palestinian Authority bears significant responsibility due to its lack of effort to further pursue the issue.
It is the Palestinian Authority’s responsibility to protect Palestinians and the environment from such threats in the first place.
It is also essential that the Palestinian Authority protect the underground water supply, the only source of water in the area.
Otherwise, the Palestinian Authority will face the additional problems of having to filter water for human consumption, as well as the real possibility of epidemic and disease in the area.
Therefore, Al Mezan calls upon the Palestinian Authority to immediately take whatever steps necessary to solve this problem and avoid a disaster in the area.
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