Baghdad fire leaves millions without water

A fire erupted today in a transformer room that feeds electricity to a main water plant near Baghdad, shutting it down completely and leaving millions of residents in the Iraqi capital without water.

The blaze came a day after Baghdad’s mayor decried the capital’s crumbling infrastructure and its inability to supply enough clean water to residents, thretening to resign if the Iraqi government did not provide more money.

Today’s fire began at about 7am (4am irish time) and it affected the Karkh water station in Tarmiyah, which serves northern and western Baghdad, officials said.

The water project’s director, Jassim Mohammed, said he believed the fire resulted from an explosion carried out by insurgents, who frequently target infrastructure. He said at least three days were required to get spare parts and repair the damage, which has completely halted all water distribution from the plant.

A municipal official, howeve, said the blaze was still under investigation. Loud explosions can occur when a transformer blows. “The reason remains unknown. It’s not clear if it was an explosion (caused by insurgents) or a technical problem,” said the official.

The water stoppage in several neighbourhoods will continue until the problem is fixed, the official said.

The US military confirmed the incident, said Sgt. 1st Class David Abrams, a spokesman for Task Force Baghdad. “We verified with engineers on the site that it was a blown transformer, but not an attack.” Abrams could not immediately provide information on how many residents were affected.

Efforts to expand Baghdad’s water projects were set back earlier this month when insurgents sabotaged a pipeline near Baghdad.