When Sanctions Forced Us to Rethink Everything: A Story of Creative Engineering in Crisis - Zaid Jurji

Al Rasheed

When Sanctions Forced Us to Rethink Everything: A Story of Creative Engineering in Crisis - Zaid Jurji

In the 1990s, I had the privilege (and the challenge) of serving as Head of the Water and Sanitation Programme for UNICEF in Iraq. It was a delicate and demanding era. The country had just emerged from the first Gulf War and was gripped by severe international sanctions. Every solution had to be custom-built for a context defined by scarcity, restriction, and unpredictability.Importing equipment was restricted to the Oil For Food Programme and was not guaranteed due to sanctions. Cash for local works was in desperately short supply. The city’s water infrastructure, already aging, was buckling under the weight of years of underinvestment and neglect. We had to find a way forward, not despite the constraints, but because of them.
This is the story of one project that still makes me proud, not just for what we built, but for how we built it.

The Context: A City on the Edge

Baghdad city, with over 5.5 million inhabitants, relied almost entirely on the Tigris River for drinking and was split into two halves by the Tigris: Karkh in the west and Rasafa in the east. The city’s water supply depended on eight treatment plants. The largest, Karkh, served 70% of the population. A second, Sabba Nissan, served 15%. The remaining 15% relied on six smaller plants; four of which should have been decommissioned a decade earlier due to deteriorating raw water quality, aging infrastructure, and declining efficiency.
But decommissioning was a luxury Baghdad couldn’t afford. The water deficit was too severe. So, they kept running.
Among these was Al-Rasheed Water Treatment Plant, constructed in the 1950s and serving over 200,000 people. Unlike other parts of the city, this community relied on an isolated network and Al-Rasheed was their only source of potable water. There was no backup, no alternative.
And it was failing.

The Problem: A Plant Under Siege

Al-Rasheed’s challenges were compounded by its location. Just upstream, an island, formed over years by sediment and lack of dredging, split the Tigris into two channels. This natural barrier concentrated contamination from two major sources:
The State Factory for Vegetable Oil Products, whose effluent treatment unit was inoperable, discharging untreated waste directly into the river.
A stormwater pumping station, which, due to illegal household connections, was effectively pumping raw sewage into the Tigris.
Both sources released their effluent within 300 meters upstream of the plant. And because of the island’s geometry, this contamination disproportionately affected the water entering Al-Rasheed’s intake.
Add to that the chronic shortage of spare parts, and proper maintenance, the plant’s efficiency had plummeted, both in quality and quantity. Something had to change.

The Creative Pivot: Thinking Beyond the Obvious

The initial proposal was straightforward: shift the intake pipes to the side of the island facing the plant, extending them by 70 meters. But water quality tests showed only marginal improvement. Still far from safe.
So we pushed further.
What if we stretched the intake all the way to the other side of the island, beyond the contamination zone entirely? It was ambitious, logistically complex, and politically sensitive. But it was the only way to guarantee clean water.
We ran the numbers. Using 400mm diameter pipes would not work, the available Net Positive Suction Head (NPSH) was insufficient for the pumps. We redesigned with 500mm pipes, and the hydraulics checked out. But this solution required crossing the river, which meant navigating regulatory hurdles with the Ministry of Irrigation to secure navigation clearances. After sustained advocacy and clear articulation of the public health benefits, we got the green light.

The Execution: Engineering Under Pressure

The modification was a feat of coordination and improvisation:

• A 130-meter steel structure was built across the river, supported by 68 I-section steel piles driven 5–8 meters into the riverbed.
• Over 11,000 cubic meters of excavation were carried out on the island to clear a path for the pipes.
• A new intake structure was constructed on the opposite side of the island.
• 1,500 meters of steel and ductile pipes were laid and welded. 800 meters sourced locally by UNICEF, 700 meters provided by the Baghdad Water Authority.
• A vacuum system was installed to ensure smooth priming and operation of the low-lift pumps.
• A complete overhaul to the different WTP stages using OFFP imported equipment was undertaken.

Work began in December 1998 and was completed in March 1999; just in time for International Water Day. The inauguration was attended by the Mayor of Baghdad and the UNICEF Representative. It was a moment of pride, but the real reward came later.

The Payoff: More Than Just Numbers

Using UNICEF’s efficiency evaluation module, we measured the plant’s performance before and after rehabilitation. Efficiency, both qualitative and quantitative, rose from under 40% to over 70%.
But the most moving feedback came not from a report, but from the plant manager during my final inspection visit. He told me:
“The people in this community are praying for UNICEF in their mosques. The water quality changed overnight, from something unbearable to water that is truly fit for drinking. They are so happy.”
That moment crystallized everything. In a context where every decision was constrained by sanctions, where every resource was scarce, and where the stakes were measured in human health and dignity, creativity wasn’t optional, it was essential.

Final Reflection

This project taught me that constraints can be catalysts. When you can’t import solutions, you innovate. When cash is short, you collaborate. When the system fails, you redesign it, not just with engineering, but with empathy, persistence, and a deep commitment to the people you serve.
I share this story not as a technical case study, but as a testament to what’s possible when teams refuse to accept “impossible” as an answer. Under sanctions, under pressure, and under the weight of a city’s hope, UNICEF found a way.
And that way made all the difference.