To reduce waste, Kurdistan’s Erbil to fine residents not using water meters
Local authorities in the Kurdistan Region’s capital of Erbil announced a new regulation on Thursday that, starting in less than four months, will impose a fine on homes that do not use water meters in an effort to limit wasteful household use.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Local authorities in the Kurdistan Region’s capital of Erbil announced a new regulation on Thursday that, starting in less than four months, will impose a fine on homes that do not use water meters in an effort to limit wasteful household use.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has previously stated that it spends 840 million dinars (close to $700,000) per day to desalinate 2.1 million cubic meters of drinking water throughout the region. The KRG also estimates that the public squanders roughly 850 thousand cubic meters daily, about 40 percent of all usage, which costs the government an average of 340 million dinars ($285,000) daily.
Masoud Karsh, the head of Erbil’s Water and Sewage Directorate, said at a press conference in Erbil that he had presented a project aimed at curbing water usage to the regional parliament and the KRG, both of which he said gave their backing.
“We would like to inform citizens that they must install a water meter in every home,” Karsh said, stating that, beginning in March 2020, any house that does not have the control system in place will be subject to a fine of 100,000 dinars (just under $85) per month.
The KRG has pushed for the installation of smart water meters in all residential units as well as in commercial buildings and has called on residents to use water responsibly, treat it as a precious resource, rather than an inexhaustible one.
In July 2018, then-Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani announced an electrical smart metering system that would contribute to the rationing of power consumption. He called on media outlets to help raise awareness for energy efficiency and promote a culture of mindful electricity use throughout Kurdistan.
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In an update to that effort, Ministry of Electricity Spokesperson Umed Mohammed told Kurdistan 24 in late October that the ministry had installed 41,000 new metering units across Erbil to ensure efficient consumption of household power.
Editing by John J. Catherine
