Kirkuk gets water upgrade

KIRKUK, Iraq, April 1 (UPI) -- The Iraqi government took control of a water purification project with the capacity of supplying 24 million gallons of potable water to areas around Kirkuk.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the $8.2 million Dibbs pump project and handed control of the facility over to the Iraqi government, a release by the corps said.

The facility increases the amount of potable water from 18 million to 24 million gallons daily and supplies water to 16 Iraqi villages, a training facility for the Iraqi army and more than 500,000 Iraqi citizens living in Kirkuk.

The project involved the installation of six vertical pumps, groundwater storage tanks and a chlorine injection system.

Two new electrical transformers supply the facility with energy.