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Last update - 16:19 02/05/2008
Gaza sewage pumped into the sea over past three months
By Akiva Eldar, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Gaza Strip, sewage 

Millions of liters of sewage have been released over the past three months into the Mediterranean Sea from the Gaza Strip, according to a new United Nations report.

According to the report, an estimated 50-60 million liters of waste per day have been pumped into the sea. This was done in an effort to prevent an overflow of sewage in residential areas.

Normally, the sewage is pumped to prearranged sites for treatment, but the shortage of fuel in the Gaza Strip has caused disruptions in the supply of electricity. These shortages, lack of sufficient quantities of chemicals necessary for treating sewage, and spare parts, has led the Gaza officials to pump the waste into the sea.
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The report prepared by Office of the Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) raises concerns that the untreated sewage is carrying Escherichia coli (e. coli) bacteria into the sea which may affect those swimming in its waters.

E. coli bacteria can cause infection in the urinary tract and the digestive system.

The authors of the report also wrote that in areas where the sewage is pumped into the sea, the color of the water is dark brown and a strong odor emanates.

Fishermen in Gaza bay claim the sewage has killed much of the fish in the area.

Officials in the Gaza Strip said there were also concerns that the pumping station in the Zeitun area would not be able to handle the sewage that had accumulated and the treatment pools would overflow.

The treatment plant requires constant electrical supply, and the OCHA report calls on Israel to lift its restrictions on fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip.

OCHA says that unless electricity can run continuously it is impossible to make regular use of the sanitation equipment in the Strip.

The UN is also calling on Israel to allow the transfer of materials and spare parts that are necessary to upgrade the sewage system, and which would allow the construction of three modern sewage treatment stations in the Strip.

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      1.   SELL THEM SOME DARN FUEL 03:17  |  newsreader 02/05/08
      2.   Hit The Books Hard Hamas & Learn How To Create A State 03:58  |  Lavi 02/05/08
      3.   Time to help our enemies before they poison us with their hate. 04:35  |  Michael J 02/05/08
      4.   The Necessary Materials 06:09  |  Archie Bunker 02/05/08
      5.   Does Hamas really care? 07:04  |  Ricardo 02/05/08
      6.   Let`s have a contest! 07:09  |  Colin Wright 02/05/08
      7.   Have you seen... 07:33  |  Maureen Ann 02/05/08
      8.   Brit`s, EU and Arabs pollute 07:51  |  Binyamin Dissen 02/05/08
      9.   #2, LAVI the laughable 08:24  |  VIPER 02/05/08
      10.   Sewage Pipes Used For Rockets 08:25  |  Phil 02/05/08
      11.   Hamas stole the fuel forcinly 08:25  |  Yonatan 02/05/08
      12.   #4,ARCHIE BUNKER, here`s a thought 08:28  |  VIPER 02/05/08
      13.   Fails to mention it flows directly up te coast to Tel Aviv 08:41  |  Ian 02/05/08
      14.   Egypt should supply the fuel 08:54  |  Dror 02/05/08
      15.   Let Them Eat Their Waste 09:34  |  Yishai Kohen 02/05/08
      16.   Gaza goldfish washed up on the beach at Tel Aviv 10:14  |  Clickfool 02/05/08
      17.   VIPER #9 10:52  |  S 02/05/08
      18.   Ian #13 You are absolutely correct. Unfortunately. 10:56  |  S 02/05/08
      19.   Terrorist Animals Living In Filth 11:07  |  Yossi 02/05/08
      20.   #15 Yishai Kohen.#2 Lavi and #17 S. 11:24  |  Maureen Ann 02/05/08
      21.   For Yossi # 19 11:30  |  Clickfool 02/05/08
      22.   Ian (# 13) has got it absolutely right, I really wonder...... 11:39  |  Swiss (Dino) 02/05/08
      23.   This problem is not new .... 11:43  |  Elihu 02/05/08
      24.   A pollution warning should be issued to all tourists to Israel 12:04  |  Fairplay 02/05/08
      25.   What about the 60,000 litres of fuel that Hamas expropriated 12:08  |  Michael 02/05/08
      26.   Filthy palestinian habit of polluting the environment 12:16  |  Johnny 02/05/08
      27.   They`re drowning in their own effluent 12:24  |  x-ray 02/05/08
      28.   #27 12:39  |  Hj 02/05/08
      29.   Maureen Ann #20 12:40  |  S 02/05/08
      30.   Maureen Ann: They Use Their Sewage Pipes For Qassams 12:43  |  Yishai Kohen 02/05/08
      31.   Fuel expropriation unavoidable 13:18  |  Joihn Syracuse 02/05/08
      32.   Sewage pipes can also be made of concrete or hard plastic 13:24  |  AliciaYasmeen 02/05/08
      33.   Five Gazans already killed by sewage 13:25  |  x-ray 02/05/08
      34.   #17, S, do you really expect logic here? 13:32  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 02/05/08
      35.   Difficult decision for the Palestinians 14:04  |  Clickfool 02/05/08
      36.   Dino: why should a hudna change Hamas`s attitude to its own? 14:16  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 02/05/08
      37.   #32 14:18  |  DR 02/05/08
      38.   Build another fence to protect the sea from islamic terrorists! 14:49  |  Protected Civilian 02/05/08
      39.   #36, Margie 14:58  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 02/05/08
      40.   SWISS DINO: facts of life 15:00  |  AliciaYasmeen 02/05/08
      41.   Water flows south and then west along coast 15:02  |  Prof. Chris T. 02/05/08
      42.   Build a state already! 15:04  |  Ex-pal lover 02/05/08
      43.   GAZA SEWAGE FLOWING IN TO THE SEA? 15:08  |  hafiz 02/05/08
      44.   SWISS DINO: facts of life - 2 15:12  |  AliciaYasmeen 02/05/08
      45.   # 36 Margie in Tel Aviv 15:14  |  Swiss (Dino) 02/05/08
      46.   Gaza sewage and Shkelon water 15:17  |  Tosefta 02/05/08
      47.   the problem is obvious to me 15:25  |  TAZ 02/05/08
      48.   dutch,durson,Silvienne will willingly clean GAZA from GARBAGE 15:27  |  Vittorio 02/05/08
      49.   Actually FILTHY HAMASTAN should live in FILTH. 15:30  |  Vittorio 02/05/08
      50.   Pal`s too good at playing the victim 15:31  |  B`Galil 02/05/08
      51.   Is HAMAS using sewage pipes for making QASSAMS? 15:32  |  Vittorio 02/05/08
      52.   BEFORE 1967 15:34  |  soggy liberal 02/05/08
      53.   Will IDF confiscate the sewage 15:57  |  historian 02/05/08
      54.   It is intentional - they have electricity. Just being poisonous 15:59  |  17 02/05/08
      55.   #12 Archie, We would have hepled to build or build it 16:04  |  Haham me Bat Yam 02/05/08
      56.   What about Psychic Sewage? 16:05  |  B 02/05/08
      57.   Gaza sewage and Ashkelon water 16:16  |  Tosefta 02/05/08
      58.   Pump the Sewage Into Israel 16:22  |  archmangle 02/05/08
      59.   Dino you`re only learning of part of the problem here 16:29  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 02/05/08
      60.   To x-ray, #27: No, Israel is drowning in Gazan Effluent. 16:30  |  archmangle 02/05/08
      61.   but yet no call for an end to kassams? thanks UN! 16:36  |  don 02/05/08
      62.   #13 Ian 16:41  |  Michael 02/05/08
      63.   Newsreader Needs to Think 16:44  |  Tex 02/05/08
      64.   Re: #35 Difficult decision 16:46  |  Michael 02/05/08
      65.   Arabs apper to enjoy living in their own crap 16:57  |  ottomatik 02/05/08
      66.   the stolen land has its sewage too. Any settler volunteer 17:16  |  tell-it-as-it-is 02/05/08
      67.   I hope the sewage flows towards Israel 17:27  |  John 02/05/08
      68.   Where`s the WHO Smoking Red Head? 17:37  |  Magnify 02/05/08
      69.   Dino 17:48  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 02/05/08
      70.   #40 - Swiss(Dino) - Do Your Eyes See In Only One Direction? 18:16  |  JP 02/05/08
      71.   Israel dump the garbage in Palestine! 18:21  |  Dav 02/05/08
      72.   Garbage dump 18:24  |  Dav 02/05/08
      73.   over population over population over population 18:33  |  v hardman 02/05/08
      74.   #40 - Swiss(Dino) - Swiss(Dino)`s Right, Its All Israel`s Fault 18:34  |  JP 02/05/08
      75.   vacation 19:02  |  P g H 02/05/08
      76.   #9 Viper 19:22  |  Moshe 02/05/08
      77.   #9 Viper 19:29  |  Marc 02/05/08
      78.   Quite a clever move 19:34  |  Chris Linthwaite 02/05/08
      79.   Thinking in the Twilight Zone (Margie #36; re Dino) 19:36  |  Tosefta 02/05/08
      80.   P g H #49 Cancellation of vacation in Israel 19:44  |  S 02/05/08
      81.   Eilat Beckons 19:51  |  JP 02/05/08
      82.   #40 - Swiss(Dino) is right! Don`t Blame Hamas For Anything, Ever 19:54  |  JP 02/05/08
      83.   what do sewage pipes have to do with treatment plants? 19:55  |  Pablo B 02/05/08
      84.   IT`S STILL OUR PROBLEM; EVEN IF WE DONT LIVE THERE. 20:22  |  Lindsay galliher 02/05/08
      85.   Not the mediterranean! 20:40  |  Lev 02/05/08
      86.   # 39 AliciaYasmeen 20:49  |  Swiss (Dino) 02/05/08
      87.   Eco-terrorism and desertification 20:57  |  Realist 02/05/08
      88.   #45 B`galil 20:58  |  wh 02/05/08
      89.   #6 Colin Wright 21:06  |  Moshe 02/05/08
      90.   #22 Swiss , Do you know what is Hudna ? 21:11  |  TOMY 02/05/08
      91.   Let them swim in their own shit they created their own problems 21:11  |  zionist forever 02/05/08
      92.   Tosefta #41 worrying about Ashkelon? (third try) 21:18  |  S 02/05/08
      93.   Except of course Lintywit 22:12  |  x-ray 02/05/08
      94.   Sorry, it´s not a question of money and it´s not a question of 22:53  |  Karl 02/05/08
      95.   Hi PgH (49), hiking in the Golan is much nicer than 23:49  |  Karl 02/05/08
      96.   Clickfool 00:06  |  TT 03/05/08
      97.   Oh, well done, Israel 00:12  |  Claus 03/05/08
      98.   46 Vittorio: Answer is: YES 00:22  |  I 03/05/08
      99.   50 Chris Linthwaite, So you admit they do it on purpose? 00:29  |  Rob 03/05/08
      100.   newsreader, these are terrorists 01:30  |  MaryRose 03/05/08
      101.   talkback #1- NEWSREADER 01:59  |  Reality Check 03/05/08
      102.   sewage 02:51  |  tom 03/05/08
      103.   Water supply (S #92) 03:40  |  Tosefta 03/05/08
      104.   SEWAGE # 102 05:01  |  WATER EXPERT 03/05/08
      105.   #97 CLAUS THE EXPERT ON F ALL 08:18  |  v hardman 03/05/08
      106.   I bet 99% of the Israeli cheer squad posters 08:53  |  kiwi girl 03/05/08
      107.   This stench of Islam 08:55  |  Akiva P 03/05/08
      108.   Elihu of Efrat @#23 08:59  |  Akiva P 03/05/08
      109.   WATER EXPERT @#104 09:09  |  Akiva P 03/05/08
      110.   SO SO SAD... I mean it 09:28  |  reader 03/05/08
      111.   Tosefta #103 the water expert. 09:34  |  S 03/05/08
      112.   #106 kiwi girl read 105 09:34  |  v hardman 03/05/08
      113.   Israel dump garbage in Palestine 09:41  |  Dav 03/05/08
      114.   kiwi girl in her stride, Jew hating 10:18  |  x-ray 03/05/08
      115.   #113 israel is base on the defined mandate treaty of 26 sept 1922 10:49  |  v hardman 03/05/08
      116.   #111, S 11:16  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 03/05/08
      117.   Zionist have been thrown in the sea. 11:17  |  Ben 03/05/08
      118.   To #16, 21 and 35 - Clickfool 13:08  |  Reality Check 03/05/08
      119.   # 92 TOMY 14:19  |  Swiss (Dino) 03/05/08
      120.   # 70 JP 14:33  |  Swiss (Dino) 03/05/08
      121.   # 69 Margie in Tel Aviv (and also Alicia Yasmeen) 14:44  |  Swiss (Dino) 03/05/08
      122.   #17, S, here we go with the guilt trip 14:51  |  VIPER 03/05/08
      123.   #76, MOSHE 14:54  |  VIPER 03/05/08
      124.   maureen ann have you seen the tirds that come out of those 15:55  |  sewermonitor 03/05/08
      125.   #59 Margie 16:19  |  Boycott 03/05/08
      126.   #86 SWISS DINO: I agree with you - FREEdom is everything! 16:34  |  AliciaYasmeen 03/05/08
      127.   The current from Gaza will hit Lebanon, Syria 16:35  |  Sailor 03/05/08
      128.   Are There No Cesspools? Are There No Septic Tanks? 17:38  |  Jeff Northridge 03/05/08
      129.   LAKSHMI your "clean& green"slogan versus brown & dirty reality 17:55  |  PETER SM 03/05/08
      130.   Diffusion, plus confusion (S #111) 17:55  |  Tosefta 03/05/08
      131.   THE Pipes used to make qassems could have been put to better use 17:57  |  PETER SM 03/05/08
      132.   #99 Rob 19:44  |  Chris Linthwaite 03/05/08
      133.   Tosefta #120 20:01  |  S 03/05/08
      134.   KIWI G.Easier to scream zionist than ask where did all the aid go 20:05  |  PETER SM 03/05/08
      135.   Victor hardman still peddling the old Zionist lie about San Remo 20:09  |  Clickfool 03/05/08
      136.   PLENTY OF fuel for Hamas activities.They take a large slice 20:16  |  PETER SM 03/05/08
      137.   Tosefta gets honest and has something in common with S 20:18  |  x-ray 03/05/08
      138.   SHOOTING up the Israeli distribution point to Gaza 20:19  |  PETER SM 03/05/08
      139.   Tosefta has much in common with S 21:01  |  x-ray 03/05/08
      140.   What goes out... 21:59  |  Gray 03/05/08
      141.   What goes out ... 22:14  |  Gray 03/05/08
      142.   Tosefta`s Non-expertise on desalination, 2nd try. 22:26  |  I 03/05/08
      143.   Why was Slowman so slow on Holocaust Day? 22:55  |  Press Ass 03/05/08
      144.   This all comes back to Israel` criminal blockade of Gaza 23:08  |  Dutch 03/05/08
      145.   # 118 Reality Check 23:37  |  christa 03/05/08
      146.   Those shameful Israelis causing this mess & public Health Crisis 23:52  |  Dutch 03/05/08
      147.   We should never have created the sh**ty state of Israel 23:54  |  Dutch 03/05/08
      148.   #145 - Christa 00:49  |  Reality Check 04/05/08
      149.   Boo hoo hoo Dutch...#147 00:50  |  Rozz 04/05/08
      150.   Dino 01:11  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 04/05/08
      151.   149 For 60 yrs Israel has been nothing but trouble.... 01:41  |  Dutch 04/05/08
      152.   Xray on jew hating 01:42  |  kiwi girl 04/05/08
      153.   Peter SM, where did all Israels aid go to? 01:54  |  kiwi girl 04/05/08
      154.   IFthey can pump it into the ocean why not into cesspools 02:02  |  PETER SM 04/05/08
      155.   106 02:58  |  zionist forever 04/05/08
      156.   DITCH #147 03:21  |  Your worse dream 04/05/08
      157.   Dutchess # 146 03:27  |  YERUSHALMI 04/05/08
      158.   Fair deal: You poison them, they poison you back 04:31  |  Aounist 04/05/08
      159.   132Chris L. Prevention of sewage pipes from becoming Kassams 04:44  |  Rob 04/05/08
      160.   Gaza Song: Where have all the Sewage Pipes gone? 04:53  |  Rob 04/05/08
      161.   #160 Rob. Where have all the children gone? 05:52  |  Maureen Ann 04/05/08
      162.   KIWI girl.Your business is the N.Z. taxpayers aid to the Pals 06:37  |  PETER SM 04/05/08
      163.   Old Aunt Dutch soils her dress 06:40  |  Panther Jet 04/05/08
      164.   MAKE THEM DRINK IT! 06:45  |  Meir Label 04/05/08
      165.   Re: Israeli policies helping to pollute the sea around Gaza 07:19  |  Dutch 04/05/08
      166.   #24-Fairplay-To Play Fair Egyptian Tourists Should be Warned.. 07:32  |  PK 04/05/08
      167.   x-ray #139 You may be right that my family is smarter than me 08:34  |  S 04/05/08
      168.   #9 Viper: Get Out Much? Especially To The Middle East? 08:40  |  Lavi 04/05/08
      169.   161Maureen Ann: Gaza kids became child (boy) soldiers 08:56  |  Rob 04/05/08
      170.   # 126 Alicia Yasmeen 12:09  |  Swiss (Dino) 04/05/08
      171.   # 150 Margie in Tel Aviv 12:14  |  Swiss (Dino) 04/05/08
      172.   Gaza Arabs should learn from camels: cogenerate energy 05:42  |  60 yrs of UNRWA pay 16/06/08
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