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Iraq

Answer

The last reliable pre-conflict figures for safe water are for 2000, when urban and rural levels of access to safe water were estimated at 92 per cent. and 46 per cent. respectively. The discriminatory policies of the former regime meant access varied significantly by region and was generally worse in the south. Access to safe water deteriorated as a result of the conflict and post-war looting in 2003. The immediate post-conflict coverage was estimated at 60 percent. for urban and 30 per cent. for rural populations. Since then, donors, including DFID, have worked hard to restore supplies, and we estimate that 1.25 million more Iraqis have access to safe drinking water than before the conflict.The best information we have on safe water supply in Iraq comes from the ““Iraq living Conditions Survey 2004”” conducted by the Iraqi Central Office for Statistics and Information Technology in April/May 2004. This survey can be found at http://www.iq.undp.org/ILCS/overview.htmIn urban areas, 99 per cent. of households have access to safe drinking water but for 33 per cent. the supply is unreliable. In rural areas, 65 per cent. of households have access to safe drinking water, but for 22 per cent. the supply is unreliable.In most cases, the main barrier to access to safe drinking water is the condition of the pipelines, rather than the water supply itself. This is partly due to the tendency for insurgents to target water, electricity and oil pipelines, as well as the reconstruction staff working to repair them.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

44442; 441 c2143-4W

Session

2005-06

Subjects

Access Iraq Drinking water Water Water supply

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk