Delivering potable supply for Al-Khidir and Al-Daraji districts through reverse osmosis, DMAs, and capacity building
Along the Euphrates in Al-Khidir and Al-Daraji districts in southern Iraq, water that once met daily needs now often arrives too saline to drink. Recent measurements show total dissolved solids spiking to around 5,000 mg/L, levels approaching seawater. The compact treatment units, some installed in the 1990s, remove cloudiness but not the salt, leaving roughly half of the area’s 130,000 residents unable to rely on the public network and turning instead to private vendors at significant cost. A Complex
Challenge Beneath the Surface
Addressing this crisis required more than basic infrastructure development. The scale of intervention needed to restore safe water access to these communities demanded an integrated approach that would rebuild not just physical systems but add institutional capabilities as well.
The EUR 78.8 million Provision of Municipal Infrastructure project, financed by Germany's BMZ through KfW Development Bank and the Government of Iraq, addresses not just pipes and pumps but the intricate relationship between water infrastructure, institutional capacity, and community resilience.
Engicon, partnering with Dorsch Impact and ECG in a consulting joint venture, began work in October 2024 on what would become one of southern Iraq's most comprehensive water system transformations. The technical challenge alone was formidable: designing a reverse osmosis treatment plant capable of processing 2,000 m³ per hour, establishing 370 km of distribution network in Al-Khidir and 69 km in Al-Daraji, and managing brine disposal in an environmentally responsible manner.
But the inception phase quickly revealed that missing infrastructure data would require creative solutions. With no digital network maps available and only scattered records from 27 compact units operating across the districts, the team initiated a comprehensive network assessment using GIS technology and field surveys. Every pipe diameter, material specification, and connection point needed documentation before design could proceed.
Building Systems Within Systems
The project's scope extends beyond engineering into institutional development. The Muthanna Water Directorate, while operating numerous facilities, faced challenges familiar to many developing-world utilities: overwhelming dependence on government subsidies covering 90% of operational costs, incomplete customer databases, absent preventive maintenance protocols, and manual administrative processes consuming enormous staff time.
Through structured interviews with MWD departments, Engicon's capacity building team identified critical intervention points. The organization needed not just new infrastructure but reimagined business processes, from revenue collection to equipment maintenance scheduling. The team is developing computerized workflow systems, training programs spanning multiple organizational levels, and strategies to address the stark gender imbalance, with women comprising only 4.3% of employees in a target seeking 25% female representation by 2029.
Water quality analysis revealed another layer of complexity. Organic carbon measurements showed values suggesting severe pollution, though their reliability required verification. The team proposed additional sampling protocols and laboratory capacity building to ensure accurate baseline data for treatment design. Climate change projections indicating potential 20% increases per decade in key parameters like turbidity and TDS added urgency to building resilient systems.
From Conception to Implementation
Six months into a five-year timeline, the project has established foundations for transformation. Weekly progress meetings with MWD coordinate technical advances while capacity building sessions address operational readiness. A Remote Management, Monitoring and Verification system using Microsoft Power BI provides stakeholders real-time visibility into progress across design, procurement, and construction phases.
The design approach balances international best practices with local realities. Treatment technology must handle extreme salinity fluctuations while remaining operationally sustainable for MWD staff. Network hydraulics account for elevation changes across supply zones serving distinct urban and rural population densities. Procurement packaging considers both international competitive bidding requirements and local contractor capabilities.
Environmental and social considerations shape every decision. Land acquisition plans ensure fair compensation, explosive ordnance clearance protocols protect construction workers in areas with conflict history, and stakeholder engagement plans give voice to communities, particularly women and vulnerable groups, in project development.
Measuring What Matters
Success metrics extend beyond cubic meters delivered. The project targets 20 hours daily water supply for all connected customers, an 80% bill collection rate, and meaningful progress toward gender equity in employment. Each indicator represents not just technical achievement but improved quality of life: families no longer purchasing expensive bottled water, reliable service enabling home-based businesses, women entering water sector careers previously closed to them.
The Euphrates River still flows past Al-Khidir and Al-Daraji, carrying both challenges and possibilities. The water may run salt, but the systems being built to treat it, distribute it fairly, and sustain it for generations represent engineering in service of the essential human right to clean water.
