In what relief groups are calling a major humanitarian crisis, top UN officials and the Red Cross are pressing for emergency efforts to restore water to one of Iraq’s largest cities, which has been without proper supplies for days. ‘‘It’s critical. We need to do it as soon as possible,’’ said Amanda Williamson, a Red Cross spokeswoman. ‘‘The population really begins to suffer if they don’t have access to safe drinking water.’’ UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said urgent measures should be taken to restore electricity and water to Basra. ‘‘I think a city that size cannot afford to go without electricity or water for long,’’ Annan said. ‘‘Apart from the water, you can imagine what it does to sanitation.’’ Water supply in Basra has been drastically reduced since a power outage there Friday. Relief groups say the shortage of safe water could be dangerous for the city’s nearly 1.5 million residents, leading to cholera, diarrhoea and other diseases. Children, the elderly and expectant mothers are particularly vulnerable. Over the past few days, the Red Cross has worked with Basra officials to partially restore the water, rerouting water from the Tigris river. But they have been able to restore water for about 40 per cent of the city. And the quality of the water is not what it should be, say Red Cross officials. ‘‘It’s not a permanent solution by any means,’’ Williamson said. Red Cross officials say they don’t know how the electrical system was damaged, but it shut down the water supply, which is linked to electrical grids. Basra has been the site of conflict in recent days. Relief groups such as Oxfam, which specialises in water and sanitation systems, have raised concerns about attacks on critical facilities that serve civilian and military purposes. Oxfam officials say they have pressed both sides of the conflict to steer away from targeting power plants. The shortage of clean water in Iraq was already dire before the U.S.-led war, relief groups said. Because of damage from the 1991 Persian Gulf War, only half the water and sanitation systems in Iraq were operational, said Delaney, whose group did an assessment in December. He said about 500,000 tons of sewage daily was being dumped into fresh-water supplies. Oxfam had estimated that prior to the war it would have taken a year or two to restore Iraq’s facilities to full capacity. ‘‘It is not known to what extent current hostilities have affected an already critical situation,’’ said Nathaniel Raymond, an Oxfam spokesman. Oxfam officials say they hope President Bush’s request to Congress for aid includes funding for such long-term projects. Officials at the Red Cross say they are still trying to figure out how to provide safe water to Basra residents. Meanwhile, relief groups are waiting for the war to end so they can help with water and sanitation expertise and supplies. ‘‘We could only sit and watch at this point,’’ said Delaney, whose group has set up refugee camps in bordering countries. (LAT-WP)
