Syria Syria Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest.... : Water and Sanitation

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!align="center" bgcolor="lightblue" colspan="3"|Data
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!align="left" valign="top"|Water coverage (broad definition)
|valign="top"| Rural 80% (2006) Urban 94% (2006)
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!align="left" valign="top"|Sanitation coverage (broad definition)
|valign="top"| Rural 74% (2002) Urban 98% (2002)
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!align="left" valign="top"|Continuity of supply
|valign="top"|
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!align="left" valign="top"|Average urban water use (l/c/d)
|valign="top"|
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!align="left" valign="top"|Average monthly urban water and sewer bill
|valign="top"|
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!align="left" valign="top"|Share of household metering
|valign="top"| n/a
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!align="left" valign="top"|Share of collected wastewater treated
|valign="top"| n/a
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!align="left" valign="top"|Annual investment in WSS
|valign="top"| n/a
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!align="left" valign="top"|Share of self-financing by utilities
|valign="top"| n/a
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!align="left" valign="top"|Share of tax-financing
|valign="top"| high
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!align="left" valign="top"|Share of external financing
|valign="top"| low
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!align="center" bgcolor="lightblue" colspan="3"|Institutions
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!align="left" valign="top"|Decentralization to municipalities
|valign="top"|
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!align="left" valign="top"|National water and sanitation company
|valign="top"| 14 Water Establishments
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!align="left" valign="top"|Water and sanitation regulator
|valign="top"| Ministry of Housing and Construction (MHC)
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!align="left" valign="top"|Responsibility for policy setting
|valign="top"| Ministry of Housing and Construction (MHC)
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!align="left" valign="top"|Sector law
|valign="top"| Law No. 55
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!align="left" valign="top"|Number of urban service providers
|valign="top"| 14 Water Establishments in 13 Governorates
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!align="left" valign="top"|Number of rural service providers
|valign="top"| 14 Water Establishments in 13 Governorates
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Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

 is a semiarid country with scarce water resources. The largest water consuming sector in Syria is agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

. The domestic water use stand only at about 9% of total water use.
A big challenge for Syria is the high population growth with a rapidly increasing demand of urban and industrial water. In 2006 the population of Syria was 19,4 millions with a growth of 2,7%.

Access

Public water supply systems cover about 95% of the households in urban areas and about 80% in rural areas.

Drinking Water Supply

Year	Urban	Rural
1996	95%	71%
2002	98%	83%
2006	94%	80%

In 2002 96% of all urban households were connected to a sewer system. Nearly half (46%) of rural house connections were connected to a pipe sewerage system in 2002. In 2002 about 30% of the rural households were connected to a pit latrine.

Improved Sanitation

Year	Urban	Rural
1996	97%	56%
2002	98%	75%

Water quality

All major cities - with the exception of Aleppo

Aleppo

Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...

 – and all rural distribution networks in the rural areas are supplied with water of good quality from springs and groundwater

Groundwater

Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...

. Major water treatment facilities exist only for the domestic water supply system for Aleppo, which is provided with water from Lake Assad.

Water resources

Most of the domestic water in Syria is supplied by groundwater, wells and springs. One exception is Aleppo city, which receives water for domestic use by pipelines from the Assad reservoir. However, the city of Homs

Homs

Homs , previously known as Emesa , is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is above sea level and is located north of Damascus...

 is supplied with surface water from the Orontes River through a pipeline from Lake Homs.

In 2002, total wastewater produced in Syria was estimated at 1,364 million m³. Of this total 550 million m³ (40%) was treated in the cities of Damascus, Aleppo, Homs and Salamieh. All treated wastewater is reused for irrigation.

Wastewater management

In 2002, total wastewater produced in Syria was estimated at 1,364 million m³. Of this total 550 million m³ (40%) was treated in the cities of Damascus, Aleppo, Homs and Salamieh. All treated wastewater is reused for irrigation.

In October 2009, the Ministry of Housing and Construction (Syria) announced a plan to develop Syria’s wastewater infrastructure. The plan involves the construction of 180 new wastewater treatment plants

Sewage treatment

Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...

 across the country. Two plants are in the foreground: one located in Jaramanah  and the other serving the southern city of As Suwayda

As Suwayda

As Suwayda , also spelt Sweida, is a mainly Druze city located in southwestern Syria, close to the border with Jordan.It is the capital of Muhafazat as Suwayda, one of Syria's 14 governorates, bordering Jordan in the South and the governorates of Daraa in the West and Rif Dimashq in the North and...

. The procurement of the two plants has been assigned to Syrian-Qatari Holding Company

Syrian-Qatari Holding Company

The Syrian-Qatari Holding Company is a holding company founded in 2008 and based in Damascus that is equally owned by the governments of Syria and Qatar. With a declared capital of USD 5 billion it is Syria's largest holding company...

 (SQHC). SQH had planned to seek potential strategic partners through competitive tenders before February 2010. To increase the attractiveness of the project the Syrian Ministry of Finance has pledged to provide a sovereign guarantee for the agreements that will be signed with the partners. The two new plants would allow reusing treated effluent for agricultural irrigation, an established practice in Syria. However, as of December 2010 the projects were delayed after SQH failed to reach a financial agreement with the government. Also, a law on public-private partnerships that would have been the legal basis for the Build-Operate Transfer (BOT) projects was delayed.

Institutional framework

The Syrian water sector is presently fragmented and different institutions have overlapping functions and responsibilities.

The Ministry of Housing and Construction (Syria) (MHC) is responsible for proposing, planning and executing the Government's programme in the field of water supply and sanitation. Through its 14 water and sanitation directorates (Establishments) it is also in charge of providing water supply and sanitation services.

The Ministry of Local Administration (Syria) (MLA) has the task to plan and implement all governmental activities at regional level. MLAE is responsible for the protection of the environment by issuing the required standards and monitoring the quality of water for all uses.

The State Minister for Environment Affairs is responsible for dealing with all main environmental issues.

The Ministry of Irrigation (Syria)

Ministry of Irrigation (Syria)

The Ministry of Irrigation of Syria is the ministry that is responsible for drawing up the water policy of the state. It was established in 1982 as a replacement to the Ministry of Euphrates Dam.-Ministers of Irrigation:...

is responsible for supplying water for agriculture.