RAMALLAH, December 13, 2011 (WAFA) - The 2011 survey results showed that 91.8% of households in the Palestinian Territory live in housing units connected to a water network, an increase from 84.8% in 1999, said a  Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) report Tuesday.

It said the results were distributed as 89.4% of West Bank households and 96.3% of households in the Gaza Strip. This percentage varies according to locality type: 93.8% in urban households, 79.8% in rural households and 97.7% in camps.

The household sector in the Palestinian Territory consumed about 17 million cubic meters of water per month (MCM/month) in 2011: 11 MCM/month in the West Bank and 6 MCM/month in the Gaza Strip. 

Monthly average household consumption of water in the Palestinian Territory was 23.8 cubic meters: 23.6 in the West Bank and 24.3 in the Gaza Strip.

Data from 2011 indicated that the wastewater network was used by 55.0% of households in the Palestinian Territory to dispose of their wastewater, while porous cesspits were used by 39.0% of households.

The percentage of households using the wastewater network increased from 39.3% in 1999.

Local authorities collected solid waste for 74.5% of households in the Palestinian Territory in 2011 compared to 71.8% in 2009. UNRWA collected 8.5% of solid waste in 2011 compared to 8.2% in 2009.

The approximate quantity of household waste produced daily was less than 4.0 kg for 74.4% of households in the Palestinian Territory in 2011 and was estimated at more than 7.0 kg for 4.1% of them, it said.  

Average daily production of household waste in the Palestinian Territory in 2011 was estimated to be 3.0 kg: 3.2 kg in the West Bank and 2.6 kg in the Gaza Strip. The quantity of solid waste produced daily was 2,152 tons in the Palestinian Territory in 2011 compared with 2,321 tons in 2009.

Furthermore, results indicated that 19.9% of households in the Palestinian Territory in 2011 are exposed to noise very often; the percentage of households that are exposed to noise very often decreased from 23.4% in 2009.

The results showed that 15.7% of households in the Palestinian Territory are exposed very often to smell, whereas 72.2% of households reported that they are seldom or not exposed to smell in 2011.

Wastewater was the major source of smell for 37.1% of households complaining of smell sometimes or very often in the Palestinian Territory. Dumping sites were the second most important source of smell for 30.0% of these households, the report said.

M.H./F.J.