Baghdad's water and sewage system upgraded

BAGHDAD, March 4 (UPI) -- U.S. and Iraqi officials addressed concerns over the rebuilding of Baghdad's key infrastructure, citing improvements in water and sewage facilities.

Tahseen Sheikhly, a spokesman for the Joint Reconstruction Operations Center in Baghdad, said at a news conference that his office is making significant progress in key municipal operations, the American Forces Press Service reported.

He said that the security gains in and around the capital city "could open up new doors" for various levels of improvement in essential services in Iraq.

Maintaining basic upkeep on the infrastructure in Baghdad was not the past regime's top priority, Sheikhly said.

"The sewage system in Baghdad has not been rehabilitated for over 30 years," Sheikhly said, noting various reports of contamination of the city's drinking-water supply.

He reported, however, that 80 percent of the water-distribution system is online and 60 percent of the sewage system in Baghdad has undergone reconstruction.

An official with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Brig. Gen. Jeffery Dorko, added that a $2.3 million upgrade to sewer lines and water-pumping stations in one of the Baghdad suburbs was slated for completion in June.