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BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (July 8, 2008) - Some areas of
Afghanistan's Parwan province have been without water for years,
while other areas are nearly flooded.
A June 23 meeting brought together a Parwan Provincial Council
member, a U.S. military civil affairs leader and a United Nations
Habitat District manager to discuss plans to improve water
distribution.
Ahmed Zaki, Army Capt. Steve H. Keiser and Mohammad Hashim got
together with the common hope that improved water distribution will
enhance villagers' livelihood and bolster Afghanistan's growth.
Northern districts receive water from the Panjier River, but the
southern areas relied on a Chinese-built canal that proved
successful in those areas in the past, but now is partially
blocked.
"We are going to use what is already there," Kaiser said. "We
need to remove the sediment that has built up in the old canal and
keep it out permanently."
Zaki said he believes his team may be able to channel forces of
nature to unblock the canal.
"This part of the project will need [a minimal amount of]
laborers," he said. "We will just create a block and turn the river
through the canal, and it will flush the canal out naturally."
The next project they plan to undertake is to clean areas
southwest of Bagram Air Base, where water has backed up and is
starting to push people out of their homes.
The area will be thoroughly cleaned and expanded to allow more
water flow, Keiser said, explaining that this method eventually
will decrease the amount of water in one village and distribute it
to another that needs it.
"Once we get into these lower areas where most of the work needs
to be done, we will start employing local nationals to build and
rebuild the canal," Keiser said. "We will have approximately 50
workers for each section in each different spot that is being
worked on."
After the canal is unblocked, cleaned and expanded, the project
will go into its final phase, which finally will get water to
drought-stricken areas.
"The natural flow of water was plugged four years ago due to
security reasons," Kaiser said, explaining that the canal cannot
run through the air base.
A previous provincial reconstruction team built a windmill-pump
reservoir, but the project didn't pump enough water to the
waterless areas. Kaiser, Zaki and Hashim said they understand that
the key to getting the water lies in building a new section of
canal that will wrap around the air base's perimeter.
"We have proposed an extension of the existing canal along the
west side [of Bagram Air Base]," Kaiser said. Once construction
begins, the project is expected to take two to three months.
The three men agreed that water is extremely important to
sustaining life and economic progression in Afghanistan and that
security must still remain paramount, Kaiser said. "If you can
effect some change in the water flow as well as the economy, you
can really help in their lives, and we really want to be good
neighbors."
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