The observations in the area made by the Mission confirm those made by previous groups, including various Needs Assessment Missions that the water and sanitation situation in Basrah continues to remain critical. Governmental and international agency activities attempting to alleviate the situation are extensive but are nowhere near enough to repair and replace systems that are so extensively devastated. The health risks are serious and continue to cause excessive and preventable mortality especially since intravenous fluid supplies are often problematic both in quality and quantity. In contrast to the general deterioration in sewage disposal, water availability may have marginally improved with the very large number of strategically sited water tanks throughout the city where drinking water is sold. Drinking water for Basrah city is from the Shatt al Arab which also receives discharged sewage.
Sewage is discharged untreated.
The population increase in the Basrah area resulting from those displaced from Kuwait and the border region has now stabilized but the overall water supply is much less than needed. Tap water is available for part of the city, but it is considered of too high salinity to be potable or to be used for cooking. The quality has been improved since 1993 but still remains below acceptable standards. Bottled water is available but is too expensive for regular use, and consequently retail water facilities have arisen where potable water can be purchased. A major change since 1993 is the large number of water tanks which are placed throughout residential areas of the city and are now obvious everywhere.