Taiz-Ibb Water Workshop Over [Archives:2000/35/Local News]

Water workshop held in Taiz and Ibb governorates concluded last Wednesday asserting that there must be some solutions to water crisis in the two governorates, especially Taiz. Recommendations of the workshop emphasized the importance of feeding districts including Sharaab, al-Buraihi, al-Janad, Thi al-Sufal, etc. with water resources.
Papers presented in the workshop indicated that there were 2300 wells in these districts; 1993 were primitive wells. Papers also indicated the increasing number of problems over water resources, random digging of wells, and pollution due to waste of factories and sewer system.
In the concluding meeting, attended by governor of Taiz and deputy Ibb governor, an executive plan was presented by engineer Ahmed Al-Shami on administrating water resources from the top of Wadi Rasyan, whose area is 940 km2. He indicated the annual feed level and how water is used in the area. He said Water is estimated at about 5 million m3 while consumed ground water is 41 million m3 of which 27 million m3 is used for agriculture, 3 million m3 for drinking in countryside, 4 million m3 for drinking in urban areas and 4 million m3 for industry. Grater Taiz population is 650,000 people while subscribers in the water Establishment do not exceed 37,000. He finally indicated that there would be a water problem in the future.
Abdullah Saleh Saif presented a review of the proposed administration of water in terms of establishing a basis for distributing water resources, setting up an organizing framework for distributing water, improving water services, addressing the damage of floods and sewer system. He finally reviewed countryside field visits stressing that people in those areas requested the establishment of societies in their areas to coordinate with water Establishment.
Mrs. Entissar al-Harthi, NOWRA water awareness chairwoman, reviewed results of fields visits of women sector. She reflected womens suffering in those areas indicating that these women called for compensating them for transferring water to cities by establishing schools, dispensaries, illiteracy centers, handicrafts centers, etc. She also revealed that there is a big number of people from the countryside sick due to the polluted water they get.
In a statement to the YT, Engineer Jamal Mohammed Abduh, chairman of NOWRA, said Yemen is characterized among the dry or semi-dry countries. It has few water resources in comparison to other countries. Moreover, there is a misuse and maladministration.
He pointed out that the executive plan to administer Taiz water resources came as the result of detail studies conducted on the area; how to get water, how to distribute it; how to protect water resources from pollution and using it up. He concluded by saying that these plans to be deemed successful, all parties should pull together and join efforts to face this crisis.

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