Iraq's first water system survey completed in Kirkuk by Houston Group

HOUSTON, Feb. 3, 2004 -- The first water survey of its kind in Iraq was completed and presented to Iraqi and coalition officials by MRDS Kirkuk, part of Houston-based Millennium Relief & Development Services, at the request of the Civil Military Operations Center.

The survey of Kirkuk's water system includes reconstruction proposals with an estimated budget of $100 million to $150 million.

The survey will greatly help interaction between donor countries, funding agencies and the Kirkuk's Ministry of Water. The Kirkuk Ministry of Water is showing the survey to Asian donor countries, including the Republic of Korea and Japan, interested in Iraq reconstruction.

MRDS Kirkuk presented the interactive survey, which includes reconstruction proposals for Kirkuk's water system, to the Ministry of Municipal and Public Works, the Coalition Provisional Authority and the Kirkuk Ministry of Water in Baghdad.

The Ministry of Municipal and Public Works in Baghdad has asked MRDS-Kirkuk to prepare surveys of the water systems of Basra and rural areas of Kurkuk. MRDS Kirkuk also is hiring more local employees to do a land survey of Kirkuk.

Included in the Kirkuk survey was an evaluation of five water treatment plants and the city's water storage tanks, pumping stations and distribution networks. The research was assembled into an interactive presentation that included the survey findings and reconstruction project proposals.

MRDS Kirkuk conducted the survey over a one-month period with the assistance of Kirkuk's Ministry of Water.

Millennium is one of the few U.S. non-profits with extensive experience in Iraq. The organization has had a presence in Northern Iraq since 1991 and now has offices in six cities, Baghdad, Basra, Duhok, Erbil, Kirkuk and Sulemanyia. Projects include vocational training, literacy programs, public health, water and sanitation, school reconstruction and relief assistance.

Millennium is an international network of development centers operating long-term in developing countries, including Afghanistan, Colombia, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Yemen. Additional information is on the Millennium web site, www.mrds.org.