The 'water' that fills this eight hectare lake is dark brown – 50,000 m3 of raw sewage. A short time ago the lake – in fact, a basin originally built to hold rainwater – was a catastrophe in the making: the level of untreated sewage was only a metre below the banks, threatening to flood the streets and houses of Khan Yunis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip with 180,000 inhabitants.

Households in Khan Yunis have traditionally disposed of their sewage in cesspits, which have to be pumped dry on a regular basis, a costly exercise for many families. To save money thousands of households made what must have appeared an easy choice to get rid of the waste – they simply connected their houses to the rainwater drains. But no one thought of the consequences.

That is, until the Coastal Municipal Water Utility (CMWU) and the Municipality of Khan Yunis raised the alarm earlier this year. They feared that with the expected winter rains, there would again be a sharp rise in the water level, threatening to cause the sewage lake to overspill into the city.

Thanks to the financial support of the Qatar Red Crescent Society, the ICRC managed to quickly propose a solution to this imminent danger. It constructed two new basins some three kilometres from the existing lake to contain the sewage and contain the danger of it flooding Khan Yunis. This also kept the sewage from being pumped directly into the open sea, which would have polluted one of the few remaining unspoiled sections of the Gaza coastline.

Catastrophe averted

"This is an emergency operation to prevent a catastrophe during the coming winter rains," said Tony Dalziel, ICRC head of sub-delegation in Gaza. "It is a good example to illustrate the fragile state of the infrastructure in the Gaza Strip."

But, Mr Dalziel emphasized, humanitarian assistance alone cannot provide a durable solution. In the long term, a proper sewage plant is needed. "This problem shows the importance of investing in the infrastructure of Gaza," he added.

The construction of the new sewage basins took only four weeks and was completed just before the winter rains were expected to arrive. In mid-December, on a sunny but cool day, the ICRC inaugurated the project in presence of the Governor, the Mayor and the Director of the CMWU. In a symbolic act, the three partners – the ICRC, the mayor of Khan Yunis and the Governor – jointly turned the wheel of the new sewage pump for the first time, reflecting the level of cooperation between the ICRC and the authorities involved.

"This is an important project for the people of Khan Yunis," says Usama El Fara, the Governor of the Khan Yunis Governorate, "and the people also thank the Qatar Red Crescent for helping us."

Just as he spoke these words, as if planned, and to the applause of those attending the opening, a bulldozer arrived bringing a huge sign-board to be erected next to the Khan Yunis Sewage project. A few minutes later the pumps having started, waste water gushed into the new reservoirs for the first time.