WATER QUALITY STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS IN PALESTINIAN AREAS

摘要

High quality water resources are scarce in the Middle East in general and inrnparticular in the areas known as the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Water qualityrnstandards and regulations are essential elements required for the protection andrnpreservation of those scarce water resources. However, as is true in many developingrncountries around the world, standards and regulations are meaningless without thernmeans to attain those standards. Unfortunately adequate treatment facilities andrnenvironmentally sound re-use and disposal practices are scarce in the developingrnworld. Construction of adequate water and wastewater infrastructure leads to thernpromulgation of standards and regulations more often than the reverse.rnThe Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) is an agency operating within the PalestiniansrnAuthority抯 comprehensive program for economic and social development, public healthrnand environmental protection, water resources management and efficient and equitablernwater allocation. PWA has developed policies related to wastewater treatment and reusernand disposal and has also developed discharge requirements, roughly based onrnthe World Health Organization抯 standards for effluent disposal and re-usernalternatives. The Palestinian Ministry for Environmental Affairs (SMEnA) is in thernprocess of drafting a new environmental law that will provide for protection of allrnaspects of the environment, including fresh and marine water environments.rnThe US Agency for International Development (USAID) is funding a five year waterrnsector program with a planned allocation of more than $250 million to assist thernPalestinians to develop new water resources and better utilize existing sources in anrneconomically and environmentally sustainable manner. Infrastructure elements of thernprogram are intended to improve wastewater treatment to the extent that water qualityrnstandards and regulations can be adopted that will be meaningful, measurable andrnenforceable.