Many persons from Beit Hanun visited the Mezan office in Jabalia expressing fear that the water in their town was polluted.
The Center contacted the Municipality and the Palestinian Water Authority to inquire into the issue.
Face the Public invited the two officials to discuss the matter with people in Beit Hanun.
The Center's follow up indicated that the water quality indeed improved after the meeting.
attended by 75 persons Guest speakers Mr.
Ibrahim Hamad, Beit Hanun Mayor.
Mr.
Hasan as-Suradi, officer of the environmental education in the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA).
Mr.
Ramadan Na,im, Head of the Water Department in Beit Hanun Municipality.
Summary of issues raised by the public
The participants raised the following points: Beit Hanun inhabitants complain from long cuts of water supplies.
Sometimes they run out of water for as many as three days.
The water quality is under question because people find strange things in it.
They fear it could be polluted.
The Municipality neglects some areas and focus on other areas.
They demand fair distribution of water supply.
They suspect that the municipality is corrupt because it does not stop many of those who steal water.
They asked the mayor not to act selectively in such cases.
Summary of answers given by the guest speakers The speakers stressed that the water is not polluted and agreed to require at least two parties to test it regularly to make sure it meets clean water standards.
The reason behind the cuts is that the municipality is renewing some of the main lines in the town.
The project will be finished soon.
They advise people not to use private water wells because most of them are not adequate for human use.
They are used for irrigation.
The Municipality, in cooperation with the PWA, monitors water wells.
They closed one of them recently because it does not meet their standards.
New water wells will be established in Beit Hanun soon providing citizens with enough for both household and agricultural use.