Jenin: Head of the Water Authority, Eng. Mazen Ghunaim, went to Jenin Governorate today to inspect the water conditions in the governorate and to see the progress of the development projects for Jenin municipality, which began during the last years as part of the Water Authority's efforts to improve the water situation in the region, which is one of the poorest regions in the water, as the Water Authority seeks through these programs and development plans to improve water supply and management services, including reducing the high loss of water in the region. Eng. Ghunaim stressed that the Water Authority is working intensively to provide and increase the quantities of water for the various Palestinian communities to suit the needs of citizens with their different uses, stressing that the water problem cannot be solved radically except with the end of the occupation that controls all our water resources. He pointed out that the Water Authority attaches utmost importance to the Jenin region as it recognizes the need to improve the water situation.
During his meeting with Mayor of Jenin Fayez al-Saadi, Ghunaim appreciated the practical steps recently completed by the municipality to improve the workflow of the project to improve water services management in Jenin municipality, to develop the service management in financial and administrative terms, and develop investment plans. He also valued the municipality's cooperation in implementing a new project to detect network losses using aerial photos funded by the Italian province of Tuscany, which is the first in Palestine and the Middle East, noting that the problem of waste is the most important in Jenin, and affirms the Water Authority continuous support of the for the municipality of Jenin and its staff within the available capabilities.
The Water Authority works to implement several projects and activities that contribute to the development of water service in Jenin municipality by supplying the municipal water department with the equipment, mechanisms, and materials needed to carry out the operation and maintenance of the water service through donors, especially by the Japanese Agency for International Cooperation.
During his meeting, Minister Ghuneim also touched on the cabinet's decision to start work on establishing the National Water Company and approve the construction of water utilities, as these decisions come to achieve sustainability of institutional water resources for the water sector within the Water Authority's plan aimed at reforming and developing the water sector.
Inspecting the well of the municipality of Arraba.
The tour also included going to the municipality of Arraba and meeting meeting with the mayor, Ahmed Al Arrada, to view the municipality’s needs, projects priorities, and work developments in implementing projects that aim to develop municipality services, including water and sanitation. Then Minister Ghunaim and the accompanying staff went to the Araba well site of the Water Authority, which was recently re-operated after rehabilitating it and raising its production capacity to reach 2000 cubic meters per day, to benefit from these quantities in the areas of Araba, Marka, Beer Al-Basha, Fahma camp, Al-Ramah, Mansoura, Wadi Daouk and Kafr Al-Ra’i