People of Baquba are used to seeing bodies floating by in the Diyala river, and have long since ceased to use water from the river or fish in it.

Rising summer temperatures have made these problems worse. Many families like to use air coolers that rely heavily on water. Without some cooling it is difficult to sleep through the heat.

"Air coolers can be operated by simple generators, while air conditioners need high electricity, and there is a problem with the electricity," Nasir Jacob, an employee with the Diyala province water authority told IPS. "People prefer to use all available water for cooling, more than even for a bath; forget washing cars or watering our gardens."

"With the tremendous need for water in summer, pumping may not be sufficient for all residents," Mohammed Abid, father of a large family, told IPS. "Many families spend whole nights waiting for piped water in order to fill their holding tank."

Some have dug their own wells but this brings its own problems, an engineer at the directorate-general of water for the city told IPS on condition of anonymity.

"Water from these wells may be mixed with sewage water," he said. "Our towns and villages have no sewage networks, and even if they exist, they are not systematic." Locally discharged sewage often seeps into the water reserves below.

In the face of the water shortage, many farms and orchards are now desolate, and their owners jobless. Iraq now has to import food and vegetables, adding to the difficulties of local farmers.

According to an Oxfam report released last July, 70 percent of Iraqis do not have access to safe drinking water.

Inevitably, people ask why the occupation forces have not cared to ensure water and electricity supply. Just as inevitably, they get no answers.

(*Ahmed, a correspondent in Iraq's Diyala province, works in close collaboration with Dahr Jamail, our U.S.-based specialist writer on Iraq who has reported extensively from Iraq and the Middle East.)