In one sense, this is a story about technical stuff: hydrology, pipes, irrigation ditches and dams. But on another level, it's about hearts and minds and the difficult transition from dictatorship to democracy.
In spite of all its troubles, Iraq is lucky in one respect, it has better water resources than most of the Middle East. Yet the people suffer from serious water shortages, according to a United Nations Advisor visiting Utah with ten Iraq water experts.
Radwan Al-Wesha, United Nations Hydrology Advisor: "They are suffering because of inadequate distribution and poor quality."
Bullets and bombs have taken a toll on water systems. But a bigger problem was Saddam Hussein. Between wars he let the nation's facilities go to pot.
Ali Rasheed, Iraq Ministry of Water: "Some of the infrastructure, there is no maintenance due to the old system in Iraq."
The Iraqi engineers are learning how water systems are built and maintained in America. It's a lot different from 1990s Iraq. In an economy battered by international sanctions, Saddam busily budgeted for war, devoting little money to the needs of his people.
Radwan Al-Wesha: "Did not have the money, or the money they were focusing on military purposes. They were ignoring the civil infrastructures."
Ali Rasheed: "We need more water for irrigation. We have good water, but there is no distribution and no technology."
The instruction they're getting at BYU is partly about technology, but it's also about how to make decisions.
Radwan Al-Wesha: "Because the system was top-bottom approach, now we need to make it bottom-up approach. When they have a project they have to discuss it, they have to do a public participation. They have to involve the stakeholders."
The Iraqi we spoke with said the situation has improved a lot since American troops entered Iraq, but he feels the country is still many years behind and they have a lot of catching up to do.
