Construction was begun on February 6th, 2023 for implementation of Phase 1 of the project.
This phase will include a bridge to the project site, earth moving to created an initial treatment wetland with native Iraqi marsh vegetation of reeds. When this is ready, a pipe will be connected from the “switch plant” where sewage from houses in el Chibaish, the largest of the Marsh Arab towns in southern Iraq, is collected and stored.
The unhealthy situation now is that the raw sewage is dumped untreated into the Euphrates River and the historic marshes, once one of the largest wetlands in the world. The marshes have given birth to the unique Marsh Arab culture which has persisted for at least eight thousand years in the marshes created by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Part of the Fertile Crescent, this area is called the “Birthplace of Civilizations” including the Bablyonians, Sumerians and Mesopotamians and is where writing, agriculture and the use of irrigation were born.
Stunning architectural forms, like this mudhieff, are made only using reeds from the marshes
Over the past year, the Eden in Iraq team has gained the support of the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Water Resources, which has agreed to finance and provide equipment and engineering oversight. The wetland of Phase I will eliminate the odor now associated with the disposal of sewage and will begin the treatment of the sewage, so that organic compounds are biologically treated and the wastewater can be pumped into the actual Wastewater Garden, which will feature a rich diversity of Iraq wetland species.
