The central pumping station in Diyala is plagued by frequent power disruptions, and its position near a conflict zone pitting Shiite and Sunni fighters against each other means little clean water reaches the surrounding community, the Inter Press News Service said.

Local residents said fighters downstream from the Diyala farming community try to divert or contaminate water in the main waterway leaving upstream communities with few available resources.

"The Diyala River passes by the two villages before the pumping station," one resident said. "(Fighters) try to change its stream to deprive the other of water for irrigating their farms. The diversions mean relatively little water can reach the station."

Diyala officials said residents are digging their own wells but worry sewage contamination in the groundwater supply is making matters worse.

"Our towns and villages have no sewage networks, and even if they exist, they are not systematic," said one city official, adding, "Water from these wells may be mixed with sewage water."

The IPS report cites a study by the aid group Oxfam that said 70 percent of Iraqis are without potable drinking water.