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Golden Week may refer to: Golden Week (Japan), several Japanese holidays that occur during the first week of May Golden Week (China), two weeks of Chinese holidays, occurring in January or February, and September or October Golden Week (Ohio)
Shahdara Village is a village situated in the suburbs of Margalla Hills in Islamabad, Pakistan. It is located 7 km from Barakhao, 10 km away from Aiwan-e-Sadr (the official residence of the President of Pakistan), and 15 km from Faizabad Islamabad. Shahdara Village is also located near Quaid-e-Azam University. The climate of Shahdara is similar to Islamabad: winter is from November to February, spring is from March to April, summer is from May to June, rainy monsoon season is in July and August, and autumn is from September to October. Languages Pothohari is the most common language spoken in Shahdara Village, but citizens also speak Punjabi and Urdu.
Economy The economy of Shahdara Village relies heavily on agriculture. Citizens also commute to nearby areas like Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and Murree for employment. Locals earn income by selling food and cultural items to visitors at Shahdara Picnic Point. More about Shahdara Category:Villages in Pakistan Category:Tourist attractions in Islamabad
WWWW-FM (W4 Country), is a country music radio station based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, broadcasting on 102.9 MHz. Owned by Cumulus Media, WWWW-FM has a transmitter at its studios off of South Wagner Road to the northwest of downtown Ann Arbor. History Early years The 102.9 frequency began operations in or on March 1, 1962 as WOIA and is co-owned with WOIB in Saline, Michigan. Originally, WOIA and WOIB simulcast a middle of the road music format with some Top 40 music played on weekends. The format changed to full-time Top 40 in 1967. WOIA personalities during this time included John Records Landecker, later to become a legend in Chicago radio, and Art Vuolo Jr., later to become known as "Radio's Best Friend."
In 1970, the stations became WNRS AM/WNRZ FM "Ann Arbor's Winners." The "Winners" airstaff included a young Arthur Penhallow, who later became a fixture at WRIF in Detroit for nearly 40 years; at WNRS/WNRZ, his air name was "Cicero Grimes." "Winners" took advantage of Ann Arbor's status as a breakout market for songs that later went on to success in the Detroit market, proclaiming: "Winners Plays... Detroit Watches." The WNRS/WNRZ format remained Top 40 at first, but the two stations soon separated programming, with WNRS adopting a country format and WNRZ becoming a full-time 24-hour free-form progressive rock station. Former WABX personalities Jerry Goodwin and Ann Christ worked at WNRZ in 1972, and John Sinclair also hosted a Sunday-evening show.
The station built up a loyal following in Ann Arbor's "hippie" community, but was financially unsuccessful, leading then-owner Thomas Boodell to change the station to a simulcast of WNRS's country programming and change the locks at the station to keep the former progressive-rock hosts out of the studio. After a petition to restore the progressive programming generated 10,000 signatures, Boodell threw progressive-rock listeners a bone by reinstating progressive rock on the station nightly from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. This split format continued until November 1974, when the station became again temporarily a full-time simulcast of WNRS as preparations were made for the stations' sale to Rochester, New York-based Community Music Services and the FM station's facilities were upgraded.
WNRZ-FM was a pioneer in the many radio aspects of the industry, most notably improvements to the quadraphonic FM stereo system invented in 1969 by Louis Dorren and improved upon by station chief engineer Brian Brown. The station participated in the National Quadraphonic Radio Committee field trials for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). WNRZ-FM was actually the first FM station to transmit program audio in quadraphonic sound. Brown also designed and built one of the first combination audio equalizer/compressors, which was used to enhance the poor audio quality of the Collins (now Rockwell Collins) AM radio transmitter at WNRZ. A second device was installed to process the quadraphonic FM program audio.
These units literally caused the audio to "leap out" of the radio, according to industry pundits. Community Music Services took over control of WNRZ in December 1974 and four months later, after a brief stunting period proclaiming "Something BIG is coming to 103 FM," changed the station's format back to progressive rock music (this time, however, without free-form elements and with an approved station playlist) under the new call letters WIQB, with a call sign which designated the number "103" (the letters I-Q-B were chosen because of their resemblance to the numbers 1-0-3). The first record played on the new W-103 was "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by the Rolling Stones.
WIQB heavily promoted its quadraphonic sound, identifying on-air as QuadRock 103 during the 1970s. (Meanwhile, 1290 AM has since been through a multitude of format changes and is now WLBY, a business-talk station). In 1979, the progressive rock radio's personality lineup consisted of John Christian, Randy Z, Jim Dulzo, Chuck Horn and others. As the 1980s dawned, WIQB, under new owner Ernie Winn, modified its format from progressive rock to a Top 40/album rock mixture. During the '80s, Rock 103 was usually the highest-rated local station in the Ann Arbor market (jingles of the period touted the fact they were "Ann Arbor's Number One!").
In 1987, the station boosted power to 50,000 watts, dramatically increasing its coverage area to the west (toward Jackson) and north (toward Fenton), although the station's eastward signal remained impeded by 102.7 FM in Mount Clemens (then WKSG). The station went through numerous ownership changes from 1974 onward. During the mid-1990s, WIQB became an adult album alternative station under the ownership of Arbor Radio, LP. In late 1997, Cumulus Broadcasting took control of the station and switched WIQB's format to active rock. As an active rock station, Rock 103, then owned by Cumulus Broadcasting, subsequently crashed in the ratings and was regularly defeated in its own market by Detroit's WRIF.
The station was an afterthought of then-GM Ray Nelson, who along with the sales managers proceeded to change the format to country. History of "W4" The WWWW calls were originally used for 106.7 FM (and later 1130 AM) in Detroit, Michigan. Many Detroit-area radio listeners of the 1970s remember WWWW-FM as a rock station with a slightly progressive bent, and one which would offer unique programming, such as the "All-Night Album Replay," wherein several full rock LPs would be played consecutively during a given evening. Print advertising for the station occasionally featured images of Godzilla, the mythical character seen in the Toho-produced Japanese series of feature films.
That format would not extend into the 1980s, however. The change to the country format (nicknamed "W4 Country") alienated many former listeners, as reflected in initial ratings changes, and soon acquired an entirely new audience, though a rare few individuals (such as on-air personality Chuck Santoni, who is now at WSAQ-FM in Port Huron) remained with the station. In reality, the station maintained its country format much longer than the previous rock format. In October 2000 "Alice 106.7" finally changed their call letters to "WLLC-FM" (not to be confused with yet another previous Detroit FM rock station, WLLZ-FM (98.7, now known as WDZH and not to be confused with the current WLLZ on 106.7), as later emphasized when the call letters were spoken) and the "WWWW" call letters were moved to 102.9 FM in Ann Arbor to relaunch "W4 Country" on September 29, 2000.
The new "W4 Country" soon became a ratings success in Ann Arbor. Arbitron often rates WWWW-FM as the top-rated music station in the market 12+; it is usually second place overall, behind only Detroit's WJR. Among local stations in Ann Arbor/Washtenaw County, W4 is the highest-rated commercial station, although it has been reported that if non-commercial stations were counted, NPR station WUOM would come out on top. W4's signal into metropolitan Detroit is impeded by WDKL in Mount Clemens in Macomb County, but it still frequently shows up toward the bottom of the Detroit ratings. W4's signal is much stronger toward the south, west and north of Ann Arbor, and the station gets a listenable signal as far away as Flint, Lansing, and Toledo On the top of every hour, the station still uses its W4 jingles from 106.7 in the late 90s.
Changes in 2006 On July 24, 2006, the call letters for 102.9 FM in Ann Arbor were temporarily changed to WFOR-FM (there is a CBS-owned TV station in Miami, Florida with the WFOR call letters), as Clear Channel moved the "WWWW" call letters to the 1310 AM facility in Detroit. One week later, on July 31, 102.9 switched to WWWW-FM, different in only the "-FM" suffix. On September 15, 2006, the WDTW call letters returned to 1310 AM, and WDTW-FM would change its callsign to WLLZ in 2019. This sequences of moves of the WWWW call letters were likely due to a swap of the Clear Channel Ann Arbor cluster to Cumulus Broadcasting, which was still pending in late December 2007.
In popular culture WWWW has been used as the call letters of fictional and satirical radio stations in media from time to time: On an episode of The Great Space Coaster, Goriddle Gorilla used the call sign for his pathetic attempt to have an all weather radio station. On Denis Leary's album, Merry Fuckin' Christmas, he satired a boring soft rock station with the call letters (also calling it "WW2-The Big One", after World War 2). References External links Michiguide.com – WWWW-FM History WWW-FM Category:Country radio stations in the United States Category:Radio stations established in 1962 Category:Cumulus Media radio stations Category:Michigan Wolverines men's basketball
Clement Seymour "Sir Coxsone" Dodd (26 January 1932 – 4 May 2004) was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond. He was nicknamed "Coxsone" at school due to his talent as a cricketer (his friends compared him to Alec Coxon, a member of the 1940s Yorkshire County Cricket Club team). Biography The Kingston-born Dodd used to play records to the customers in his parents' shop. During a spell in the American South he became familiar with the rhythm and blues music popular there at the time. In 1954, back in Jamaica, he set up the Downbeat Sound System, being the owner of an amplifier, a turntable, and some US records, which he would import from New Orleans and Miami.
With the success of his sound system, and in a competitive environment, Dodd would make trips through the US looking for new tunes to attract the Jamaican public. While he did, his mother Doris Darlington would run the sound system and play the tunes. Dodd opened five different sound systems, each playing every night. To run his sound systems, Dodd appointed people such as Lee "Scratch" Perry, who was Dodd's right-hand man during his early career, U-Roy and Prince Buster. Recording career When the R&B craze ended in the United States, Dodd and his rivals were forced to begin recording their own Jamaican music in order to meet the local demand for new music.
In 1959, he founded a record company called World Disc. In 1962, he produced the jazz record "I Cover the Waterfront" on the Port-O-Jam label, two of the musicians who played on the album, Roland Alphonso and Don Drummond became founding members of the Skatalites one year later. In 1963, he opened Studio One on Brentford Road, Kingston. It was the first black-owned recording studio in Jamaica. He held regular Sunday evening auditions in search of new talent, and it was here that Dodd auditioned Bob Marley, singing as a part of The Wailers. In the early 1960s, Dodd was producing ska hits by Toots and the Maytals, the Gaylads, and the Skatalites.
Dodd's "You're Wondering Now", was initially recorded in 1964 by Andy & Joey in Jamaica and later covered by The Skatalites, The Specials and Amy Winehouse; it was also used as the theme tune for the British-French crime drama television series Death in Paradise. During the late 1960s and 1970s, the "Studio One sound" was synonymous with the sound of ska, rocksteady and reggae, and Dodd attracted some of the Jamaican new musicians, including Burning Spear, Ras Michael, Delroy Wilson, Horace Andy, Sound Dimension, and Sugar Minott. Honours In 2002 he was awarded a Gold Musgrave Medal by the Institute of Jamaica.
Last years/death He continued to be active in the music industry into his seventies, and on 1 May 2004, Kingston's Brentford Road was renamed Studio One Boulevard in a ceremony which paid tribute to his accomplishments as a producer. He died suddenly of a heart attack three days later, aged 72, while working at Studio One. He was survived by his wife, Norma, who passed in 2010. Dodd was posthumously awarded the Order of Distinction, in the rank of Commander on 15 October 2007, for service to the Jamaica music industry. See also Calypso music Soca music References External links Category:1932 births Category:2004 deaths Category:Jamaican record producers Category:Jamaican sound systems Category:Jamaican reggae musicians Category:Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Category:Commanders of the Order of Distinction Category:Recipients of the Musgrave Medal
This compilation of films covers all sports activities. Sports films have been made since the era of silent films, such as the 1915 film The Champion starring Charlie Chaplin. Films in this genre can range from serious (Raging Bull) to silly (Horse Feathers). A classic theme for sports films is the triumph of an individual or team who prevail despite the difficulties, standard elements of melodrama. American football Association football (soccer) Athletics (track and field) Australian rules football Auto racing NB: This list excludes films that feature illegally run street races unless legitimate races are integral to the storyline.
Aviation sport Baseball Basketball Bobsledding Bowling Boxing Caving Cheerleading and dance Competitive eating Cricket Cue sports Curling Cycling Dodgeball Fencing Fictional sports Field hockey Figure skating Fishing Golf Greyhound racing Gymnastics Handball Hiking Horse racing Ice hockey Jousting Kabaddi Lacrosse Martial arts Note: Films should not be listed here unless the sporting aspects of martial arts play a major part in the plot. {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Title ! Year ! Genre ! Style ! Notes |- |Sanshiro Sugata |1943 |Action |JujutsuJudo | |- |Sanshiro Sugata Part II |1943 |Action |Judo | |- | Enter the Dragon |1973 |Action |Jeet Kune DoKung Fu |Bruce Lee's final screen appearance before his death.
|- |Cordão de Ouro |1977 |Action |Capoeira | |- |Knightriders |1981 |Drama | | |- | The Karate Kid |1984 |Family |Karate | Retired karate master Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) instructs a newcomer (Ralph Macchio). |- | The Karate Kid Part II |1986 |Family |Karate |Sequel to the 1984 hit. |- |No Retreat, No Surrender |1986 |Action drama |MMA |A Seattle boy ends up fighting a Russian martial-arts star (Jean-Claude Van Damme). |- |Bloodsport |1988 |Action |MMA |Frank Dux (played by Van Damme), a Canadian, enters a competition in Hong Kong. |- | The Karate Kid Part III |1989 |Family |Karate |Second sequel to the 1984 film.
|- |Best of the Best |1989 |Action |Tae Kwon Do |Americans take on Koreans in a tae kwon do tournament. Eric Roberts stars. |- |Kickboxer |1989 |Action |Kickboxing & Muay Thai |An American and his brother end up in a life-or-death competition in Asia. |- |Hard To Kill |1990 |Action |Aikido | |- |Out For Justice |1991 |Action |Aikido | |- |Sidekicks |1992 |Action |Karate |A boy with asthma fantasizes about being taught by Chuck Norris, and gets to compete alongside him in a tournament. |- |3 Ninjas |1992 |Family |Karate |Three boys learn Ninjutsu from their Japanese grandfather. |- |Only the Strong|1993 |Action |Capoeira |An ex-Green Beret uses martial arts against Miami drug dealers.
|- | The Next Karate Kid|1994 |Family |Karate |Another sequel, this time with a girl (Hilary Swank) as Mr. Miyagi's apt pupil. |- |Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie|1994 |Action |Various | |- |Street Fighter|1994 |Action |Various | |- |Mortal Kombat|1995 |Action |Various |Based on the video game. |- | The Quest|1996 |Action |MMA |In 1925, a pickpocket flees America, ends up fighting for his life near Siam. |- | A Fighter's Blues|2000 |Drama |Muay Thai |Andy Lau's 100th film role. |- |Undisputed|2002 |Action |Boxing |Television film about a boxing match inside a prison. |- |Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior|2003 |Action |Muay Thai | |- |Johnny |2003 |Drama |Muay Thai | |- |Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi |2003 |Drama |Muay Thai | |- |Undisputed II: Last Man Standing|2006 |Action |MMA |Sequel to 2002 prison fight film, with a different cast.
|- |DOA: Dead or Alive|2006 |Action |Various |Four females enter a tournament. |- |Fearless|2006 |Biography |Various |Biography of Chinese Martial Arts Master Huo Yuanjia, who is the founder and spiritual guru of the Jin Wu Sports Federation. |- |Redbelt|2007 |Drama |MMA |An instructor reluctantly enters a tournament. Written and directed by David Mamet. |- |Never Back Down|2008 |Action drama |MMA |An Orlando, Florida high school boy discovers martial arts. |- |Champions|2008 |Action |Wushu | |- |Ip Man|2008 |Action drama |Wing Chun | |- |Besouro|2009 |Action |Capoeira | |- |Blood and Bone|2009 |Action |MMA | |- |Fighting|2009 |Action drama |MMA |A New York street hustler (Channing Tatum) reneges on a guarantee to lose a big fight.
|- |Tekken|2009 |Action |MMA | |- |Ip Man 2|2010 |Action drama |Wing Chun | |- | The Karate Kid| 2010 | Family | Kung Fu | Remake of 1984 film, with Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith. Unlike original film, and despite title, this version involves kung fu instead of karate. |- | The King of Fighters|2010 |Action |Various |Science-fiction story involving a thief. |- |Knucklehead|2010 |Comedy |MMA |An amateur wrestler (Big Show) enters a $100,000 tournament in New Orleans. |- |Ong Bak 3|2010 |Action |Muay Thai | |- |Undisputed III: Redemption|2010 |Action |MMA |In second sequel, convict is taken to Russia for a fight behind bars.
|- |Warrior|2011 |Action drama |MMA |Brothers fight for an MMA championship, one trained by their dad (Nick Nolte). |- |Never Back Down 2|2011 |Action |MMA |Sequel to 2008 film. |- |Here Comes the Boom|2012 |Comedy |MMA |Kevin James as a teacher who moonlights as a UFC competitor. |- |Unbeatable|2013 |Drama |MMA |Hong Kong film. |- |A Grande Vitória|2014 |Drama |Judo |Brazil film. |- |Brothers|2015 |Drama |MMA |Bollywood film. The official remake of Warrior |- |Ip Man 3|2015 |Action drama |Wing Chun | |- | Chuck & Tito| 2019 | Documentary | MMA | Made for TV as a part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series.
Chronicles the up-and-down relationship between two of the major figures in MMA history, Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. |} Motorcycle racing Mountaineering and climbing Multiple sport movies Note: This category is for films about sports in general or films about athletes participating in multiple sports. This category is not for films featuring the Olympics, Paralympics, X-Games and other similar "games" which fall under the "Multisport Games / Olympics" category. Films featuring specific sports should be listed under that specific sport. Multi-sport Games / Olympics Note: Films featuring the Olympics, Paralympics, X-Games, etc... and other similar events are included.
Films featuring specific sports featured in the games should be listed under that specific sport Polo Powerboat racing Rodeo Rollerblading Roller skating Rowing Rugby Sailing Shooting Skateboarding Skiing Ski jumping Snowboarding Speed typing Ssireum Sumo wrestling Surfing Swimming & diving Table tennis Tennis Triathlon Underwater diving Volleyball Water polo Wrestling Note: Lucha films are not included in this list. Although they feature luchadores (Mexican professional wrestlers) as the lead characters, the luchadores typically portray heroes (often superheroes) within non-wrestling stories (such as action, horror, or sci-fi). See also List of films about bicycles and cycling List of films based on sports books References Notes Citations Bibliography Armstrong, Richard B. and Mary Willems (1990) .The Movie List Book: A Reference Guide to Film Themes, Settings, and Series.
McFarland. Davidson, Judith A. and Adler, Daryl (1993). Sport on Film and Video. New-York: The Scarecrow Press. . Sicks, Kai Marcel and Stauff, Markus (eds.) (2010). Filmgenres: Sportfilm [sic]. Stuttgart: Philipp Reclam .. Wallenfeldt, Jeffrey H. (1989). Sports Movies: A Guide to Nearly 500 Films Focusing on Sports. CineBooks. . (fr) Julien Camy and Gérard Camy, Sport&Cinéma'', ed. Du Bailli de Suffren, 2016, (1200 films, 60 sports, 80 interviews) External links Dugout Videos: Baseball Films Sports Movies Guide Hall of Fame for Movie Coaches * Sports
In the music industry, the top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "contemporary hit radio" is also a radio format. Frequent variants of the Top 40 are the Top 10, Top 20, Top 30, Top 50, Top 75, Top 100 and Top 200. History According to producer Richard Fatherley, Todd Storz was the inventor of the format, at his radio station KOWH in Omaha, Nebraska. Storz invented the format in the early 1950s, using the number of times a record was played on jukeboxes to compose a weekly list for broadcast.
The format was commercially successful, and Storz and his father Robert, under the name of the Storz Broadcasting Company, subsequently acquired other stations to use the new Top 40 format. In 1989, Todd Storz was inducted into the Nebraska Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame. The term "Top 40", describing a radio format, appeared in 1960. The Top 40, whether surveyed by a radio station or a publication, was a list of songs that shared only the common characteristic of being newly released. Its introduction coincided with a transition from the old ten-inch 78 rpm record format for single "pop" recordings to the seven-inch vinyl 45 rpm format, introduced in 1949, which was outselling it by 1954 and soon replaced it completely in 1958.
The Top 40 thereafter became a survey of the popularity of 45 rpm singles and their airplay on the radio. Some nationally syndicated radio shows, such as American Top 40, featured a countdown of the 40 highest ranked songs on a particular music or entertainment publication. Although such publications often listed more than 40 charted hits, such as the Billboard Hot 100, time constraints allowed for the airing of only 40 songs; hence, the term "top 40" gradually became part of the vernacular associated with popular music. From the 1980s onwards, different recording formats have competed with the 45 rpm vinyl record.
This includes cassette singles, CD singles, digital downloads and streaming. Many music charts changed their eligibility rules to incorporate some, or all, of these. Some disc jockeys presenting Top 40 and similar format programs have been implicated in various payola scandals. Music charts Music charts and various radio programs adopt different chart formats including Top 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 75, 100 and 200 although radio formats usually restrict to the Top 40 wherever the chart contains more than 40 songs. Radio format Top 40 is also adopted to a radio format called Top 40 format, spinning mainly hits appearing in the official Top 40 charts of the country in addition to some upcoming hits that are greatly expected to get into the Top 40 imminently.
The format is variously known also as CHR (contemporary hit radio), contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio. See also Contemporary hit radio Mainstream Top 40 References Further reading Pete Battistini, "American Top 40 with Casey Kasem The 1970s", Authorhouse.com, January 31, 2005. Susan Douglas, Listening In: Radio and the American Imagination (New York: Times Books, 1999) Ben Fong-Torres, The Hits Just Keep On Coming: The History of Top 40 Radio (San Francisco: Backbeat Books, 1998) Elwood F. 'Woody' Goulart, The Mystique and Mass Persuasion: Bill Drake & Gene Chenault’s Rock and Roll Radio Programming (2006) David MacFarland, The Development of the Top 40 Radio Format (New York: Arno Press, 1979) External links Public Radio documentary featuring a history of Top 40 Category:Pop music Category:Record charts Category:Radio formats
Lighter Than Hare is a Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short that Friz Freleng wrote and directed. It was originally released on December 17, 1960. The title is a play on the phrase lighter than air. It was one of three Bugs cartoons that Freleng both wrote and directed, the others being From Hare to Heir (1960) and Devil's Feud Cake (1963). Storyline The cartoon opens with the credits in outer space as the camera pulls up to Earth, to somewhere in either Oregon or Washington. After this, the scene changes to the deserted Highway 17, as a flying saucer from outer space lands and surveys the surrounding area with a periscope.
At a city dump nearby, Bugs Bunny returns home, thinking he should move somewhere else, on account of the neighborhood "gettin' terribly rundown." Inside the spaceship, Yosemite Sam of Outer Space, dressed in a green gloveless spacesuit, sees Bugs on his view screen. Summoning Robot ZX29B to the bridge, he orders the robot to go out and capture Bugs as part of their Earth mission. ZX29B trundles out of the spaceship to Bugs' hole and peeks down at him cleaning up after breakfast, making Bugs get the feeling he's being watched. ZX29B hides among some garbage cans when Bugs comes up from the hole with a pail of trash, making a note to remember to make an electronic trash disposal.
Bugs thinks ZX29B is a new garbage can, and so he promptly opens his mouth like a lid and empties his trash into him. When Bugs leaves, ZX29B comes out coughing up the garbage. Angered at ZX29B's failure, Yosemite Sam exclaims: "Ooh, I knew I shouldn't have sent ZX29B, he's the most stupidest robot I've got!". Sam summons the Demolition Squad, a trio of red robots, to the bridge, and orders them to destroy Bugs. The robots, each with a fuselit barrel-shaped bomb, go into the dump. Seeing them coming, Bugs panics at being invaded by spacemen and dives into the pipe leading down to his underground bomb shelter.
The robots proceed to dump their bombs down the pipe, and leave to head back to the ship. Escaping the shelter through a back way, an angered Bugs tosses a giant magnet down the pipe to "take care of those mechanized mobsters". The entire squad is pulled down the pipe, where the bombs explode and blow the squad to smithereens, prompting a Medic Robot to appear and sweep up the mess. Angered at the Demolition Squad's failure, Sam decides he will go after Bugs himself and hops into an indestructible tank that he drives into the dump. When Sam scans the dump, he sees Bugs come up in a machine, that opens the tank hatch so it can drop a lit stick of dynamite into the tank.
Sam tosses the dynamite out, but the machine drops it back in and rivets the hatch shut. Sam tries to hammer out the rivets, but the dynamite explodes, sending Sam to drive his crippled tank back to the ship. Bugs, at this time, decides to make his getaway by taking a handcar from the Flag Station. Just after he cranks away, Sam gives chase in the spaceship. The spaceship lowers a ladder and Sam starts going down it, but he gets knocked off at a tunnel, falling to the ground stunned. The spaceship picks him up with an extending plunger and pulls him back into itself.
Sam catches up to Bugs via rocket pack and stops him at ray gun point. When Sam brags that Earth creatures can't maneuver very well, Bugs proves him wrong by spinning his ears like the blades on a helicopter and flies away. Sam shouts a catchphrase ("Yosemite Sam of Outer Space!") and tries to catch up by rocket pack, but misses when Bugs moves. When Bugs lands in a hole, Sam decides to wait so he can disintegrate Bugs the moment he comes out. While waiting, Bugs goes underground into an old tree stump behind Sam and secretly replaces his rocket pack with a lit stick of dynamite.
Bugs flies out of the stump, and Sam, ready to chase after him, shouts his catchphrase just as the dynamite explodes and destroys his spacesuit ("Yosemite Sam of Outer - BANG! - Space?"). Back at the dump, Sam uses his Robot Ferret in his next attempt to catch Bugs. The Ferret descends into Bugs' hole and encounters a Robot Rabbit built by Bugs out of old war surplus equipment. Sounding like Marvin The Martian, the Robot Ferret threatens the Robot Rabbit with a ray gun to go with him. The Robot Rabbit agrees, provided that the Robot Ferret doesn't press the button on his stomach.
Defiantly, the Ferret ignores the request and presses the button, releasing a metal block which smashes him to pieces. Angered at seeing the Robot Ferret in ruins, Sam decides that he's through fooling around. Bugs, meanwhile, builds another Robot Rabbit, sets a time bomb, puts it in the robot's stomach, and dresses it up like himself. Outside, a huge ray gun emerges from Sam's Saucer and aims down at Bugs' hole, ready to blast Bugs, but Bugs, yelling out that he surrenders, sends out his decoy, which walks into the spaceship. Their mission "complete", Sam and the flying saucer take off and fly back to Sam's homeworld.
Later that night, Bugs turns on his war surplus radio and listens in as Sam presents the Robot Decoy to the planet's Potentate. The Potentate orders the Robot Rabbit decoy to come forward and when he orders the Robot to speak, its time bomb explodes in his presence. The dazed Potentate comments that Earth creatures always shoot off their mouths. Laughing at this, Bugs changes the channels, wondering if Amos and Andy is on yet. Cast Mel Blanc as Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam, Robot ZX29B, Robot Rabbit, Robot Ferret and Potentate. Availability "Lighter Than Hare" is available, uncensored and uncut, on the Looney Tunes Superstars DVD.
However, it was cropped to widescreen. See also List of American films of 1960 List of Bugs Bunny cartoons List of Yosemite Sam cartoons References External links Lighter Than Hare at Internet Movie Database Category:1960 films Category:1960 animated films Category:1960 short films Category:1960s American animated films Category:1960s animated short films Category:Merrie Melodies shorts Category:Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films Category:American films Category:Short films directed by Friz Freleng Category:Films scored by Milt Franklyn Category:American animated short films Category:Animated films about extraterrestrial life Category:Films set in Oregon Category:Films set in Washington (state) Category:Films set in outer space Category:Films featuring Bugs Bunny
With newer, non-invasive imaging techniques, the origin of other, so-called adventitial sounds or heart clicks has been appreciated. These are short, high-pitched sounds. The atrioventricular valves of patients with mitral stenosis may open with an opening snap on the beginning of diastole. Patients with mitral valve prolapse may have a mid-systolic click along with a murmur, referred to as apical late systolic murmur. Aortic and pulmonary stenosis may cause an ejection click immediately after S1. References Category:Symptoms and signs: Cardiac Category:Audible medical signs
This article's last major overhaul was conducted in December 2013. Water supply and sanitation in Lebanon is characterized by a number of achievements and challenges. The achievements include the reconstruction of infrastructure after the 1975–90 Civil War and the 2006 war with Israel, as well as the reform of the water and sanitation sector through a water law passed in 2000. The law created four Regional Water Establishments to consolidate numerous smaller utilities.
The challenges include poor service quality, in particular intermittent water supply that persists despite the availability of relatively abundant water resources; the slow implementation of the water reform; the separation of responsibilities between various entities such as the Council for Development and Reconstruction, which are de facto in charge of investment, and the Regional Water Establishments, which are in charge of operation and maintenance; limited institutional capacity in the public sector, and in particular the Regional Water Establishments; politicization of decision-making; the absence of an autonomous regulatory agency; poor information about water resources, sector performance and assets; a very low share of metering and the absence of volumetric water tariffs; a high level of water distribution losses; limited cost recovery for water supply; and no cost recovery for sewerage and wastewater treatment.
These challenges persist more than two decades after the end of the Civil War. The Lebanese water and sanitation sector has received and continues to receive substantial foreign aid in the form of grants and soft loans from a dozen Western and Arab donors. Access According to UN estimates that are not based on any household survey access to an improved water source in Lebanon is universal. The UN figures on water access may not give an accurate picture of the real situation: A representative survey carried out by the World Bank in 2008 estimated that the average connection rate to the public water network was 80%, varying from 96% in Beirut to 55% in the North.
These figures are similar to those that came out of a 2004 Household Living Conditions Survey carried out by the Lebanese Central Administration of Statistics. Even considering that improved water sources include protected wells and springs in addition to piped water connections, it is unlikely that water access in Lebanon is universal. For example, many urban households that are not connected to the network rely on water bought from tanker trucks. The UN statistics show no data on access to sanitation in Lebanon. The World Bank quotes estimates by the Council for Development and Reconstruction showing a 58% share of connection to sewers in 2002.
Wastewater collection was highest in Beirut-Mount Lebanon (74%) and lowest in the South (35%). The remaining buildings either use cesspools and septic tanks or simply release raw sewage directly into the environment. A census of Buildings and Establishments in 1996–97 had estimated that only about 37% of the buildings in Lebanon were connected to a sewer network at that time, indicating that the share increased substantially between 1997 and 2002. Service quality The quality of water service provision is poor. According to official figures from 2009, the average water availability per day was as follows: 22 hours in the North, 10 hours in the Bekaa, 8 hours in the South, and for Beirut-Mount Lebanon 13 hours in winter, but only 2 hours in summer.
There is not a single village or city in Lebanon that receives an uninterrupted residential supply of water. Especially in summer, water shortages are common. For example, in Nabatieh Governorate water reached customers only three times a week in 2007. In Greater Beirut, water supply drops to 3 hours per day during the summer. According to the above-mentioned 2008 survey, the average Lebanese household received 6 hours per day in summer and 9 hours in winter. Only one quarter of Lebanese households received water every day. The continuity of supply was best in the North where 59% said they received water every day in 2008.
It was worst in Beirut where this share was only 10%. Poor water quality and intermittent supply impose high costs on households to cope with these deficiencies. Buying water from trucks and the purchase of bottled water are common. Water is also commonly stored in roof tanks, which imposes both an additional cost and jeopardizes water quality. Many households also use pumps to make sure that water reaches the upper floors of houses, which imposes more costs on households. Low pressure and intermittent water supply are caused, among others, by intermittent electricity supply. According to the World Bank, the Lebanese water supply and sanitation sector has not achieved service provision in line with the country’s level of economic development.
The opportunity costs of inadequate public water supply provision amount to 1.3% of GDP every year. The environmental degradation caused by the discharge of untreated wastewater is estimated to cost an additional 1% of GDP every year. However, the failure to provide a continuous water supply does not appear to be a major bottleneck for the Lebanese, where water storage tanks are in common use. What matters is the water quality, which is often insufficient, and that households have enough water to keep the tanks supplied, which is not always the case. Water resources and water use Water resource availability Because of limited and contradictory data, it is difficult to accurately assess water resources availability in Lebanon.
While Lebanon is water-rich compared to Jordan, Israel or the Damascus region in Syria, the country's per capita renewable water resources are below the threshold of water poverty set at 1,000 cubic meter per capita and year. Only part of the floodwater in rivers can be captured economically in dams, and some groundwater flows unused to the sea. Furthermore, 0.51 billion cubic meters of water flow to Syria in an average year, and 0.16 billion cubic meters to Israel. After subtraction of these amounts, 2.6 billion cubic meters of water are available in an average year, or about per capita.
It is not clear if water from springs is counted as part of groundwater or surface water in the above estimate. There are over 2,000 springs with a flow of 1.15 billion cubic meters, sustaining a perennial flow for 17 of the total of 40 major streams in the country. Springs and groundwater are today by far the main sources for drinking water supply in Lebanon. For example, the city of Sidon has an abundance of natural wells supplying three times more water than the current needs of the city. The main rivers that flow entirely inside Lebanon are the Litani river (average annual flow of 0.79 million cubic meter), the Ibrahim River (0.51), the Awali River and the Damour River (both 0.3).
A large share of the Litani River is diverted through the Markaba tunnel for hydropower generation to the Awali River. Since the upper watershed of the Litani River is polluted and the Awali River is due to be tapped as a source of drinking water supply for Beirut, this water transfer has implications beyond its intended use for hydropower generation. Transboundary rivers Two important rivers are shared with Syria and one with Israel. The Orontes River (0.48) that rises in Lebanon is shared with Syria. A 1994 agreement stipulates that Lebanon receives 80 million cubic meters of water per year "if the river flow inside Lebanon is 400 million cubic meters per year or more".
This means that the risk of drought is borne by Lebanon. No new wells were allowed to be drilled in the Lebanese portion of the Orontes basin since the agreement has been signed. The El Kebir River (average flow of 0.19 million cubic meter per year) is also shared with Syria, the river itself forming part of the border between the two countries. The Hasbani River, a tributary of the Jordan River, also rises in Lebanon and is shared with Israel. Surface water flow into northern Israel from the Hasbani/Wazani complex is estimated at 160 million m3/year. There is no agreement about the sharing of the Jordan River between the two countries.
When Lebanon diverted part of the Hasbani to supply a village in 2002, Israel stated that this could lead to war. Pollution Water resources are polluted by the discharge of untreated or insufficiently treated industrial and domestic wastewater, leaching from septic tanks, agricultural non-point sources such as pesticides and nitrates, hospital waste and domestic solid waste, as well as the discharge of motor oil. The Ghadir river in the South of Beirut is probably the most polluted river in the country, while the Wazzani River in South Lebanon may be the least polluted river because of limited economic activity in its basin.
The discharge of untreated municipal and industrial effluents, the drainage from agricultural lands, and the uncontrolled discharge of solid wastes have considerably degraded the water quality of the Qaraoun Lake and the Litani River. Untreated industrial effluents are discharged into the lake and river from sugar-beet factories, paper factories, lead recovery plants, limestone crushers, agro-industries, poultry farms, tanneries and slaughterhouses. According to a 1998 study by the National Council of Scientific Research of Lebanon for UNICEF 60–70% percent of all natural sources were affected by bacterial contamination. An example is the Jeita spring, which has witnessed an increase in fecal coliform bacteria.
Water use Data on water use in Lebanon are contradictory. Official estimates put total water use in 2010 at 1.59 billion m3, including 0.27 billion m3 (17%) from public wells for drinking water supply. In 2005, the FAO estimated water withdrawal was at 1.31 billion m3 or about 63% of economically exploitable water resources. Of this almost 60% was for agricultural purposes, 29% for municipal use and 11% for industry. The FAO does not provide the sources for these figures. Municipal use of 0.38 billion m3 would correspond to about 250 liter per capita per day based on these figures.
An earlier estimate of the Ministry of Environment estimated water use at 1.29 billion m3 in 1994, including only 0.21 billion m3 for municipal use. This figure corresponds to 140 liter per capita per day, which fits well with a World Bank estimate of 150 liter per capita per day for municipal water use, ranging from 120 liter in Beirut-Mount Lebanon to 200 liter in the North. Of households connected to the public water system, only 53% drink it. The share is lowest in Nabatieh (27%) and highest in the Bekaa (77%). The most frequently cited reasons for not drinking public water are perception of safety relating to health and hygiene, and poor taste.
Water losses The level of non-revenue water was estimated at about 48% in 2010. It was estimated to be highest in the South (52%) and lowests in Beirut-Mount Lebanon (40%). This is high by international standards, but similar to the levels in Syria, Jordan and Turkey. Since there is little metering, it is difficult to estimate the level of non-revenue water. The share of metered connections was estimated at 16% in the Beirut-Mount Lebanon governorates in 2010, and was lower in other governorates. Most industrial and commercial water users were metered, while few residential users are metered. Example: Greater Beirut water supply The public water supply system in Greater Beirut receives its water from the Jeita springs (50 million m3/year) as well as well fields in the Damour region (30 million m3/year).
The Jeita spring is the source of drinking water for about 1.5 million Lebanese. Water is treated in the Dbaiye water treatment plant north of the city with a capacity of 430,000m3/day (157 million m3/year). Besides the public network, around 1,000 mostly private wells are scattered in the area of Beirut. Their depth varies between 50 and 300m and their average individual discharge is 35 liters/second. Total water supply from these wells could be higher than through the public water supply, depending on how many hours the pumps run. Overpumping from wells in the Beirut area has led to seawater intrusion into aquifers.
The government plans to tap the Awali River to the Southeast of Beirut to provide the growing capital with 90 million m3/year of additional water, more than double the current resources. The project involves the construction of a dam at Bisri, a 3 km tunnel from the river to a new water treatment plant at Ouardaniye, and a second 22 km tunnel to Khalde south of Beirut, from where water will be transported through two twin pipelines, one going North to the center of Beirut and the second northeast to Baabda. The Islamic Development Bank has agreed to finance the construction of Bisri dam in 2008, while the World Bank has approved a US$200m loan in December 2010 to partly finance the transmission tunnels and pipelines.
Lebanese critics of the project argue that the Awali River and especially the Litani River, from which water is diverted to the Awali River upstream of the planned intake, are highly polluted. They also say that less expensive alternatives, such as the less polluted Damour River that is also closer to Beirut, were not considered by the government and the World Bank. As of December 2013, less than 1 percent of the loan has been disbursed and no civil works contract has been awarded. Modern history The Lebanese infrastructure has been badly scarred by the 1975–90 Civil War. After the war the water and sanitation infrastructure was rebuilt with substantial external financial assistance.
In South Lebanon, which remained under Israeli occupation until 2000, the infrastructure was gradually rebuilt as the Israeli army withdrew. Compared to the substantial investment in infrastructure, little effort was made at building the capacity of sector institutions and at establishing policies that favor the sustainability and improve the quality of services provided. Also, wastewater treatment was neglected in terms of investments compared to water supply and sewerage. Untreated wastewater was thus discharged to the sea and to rivers. No efforts were made to conserve water. Still today, Lebanon is one of the few countries in the Middle East that has almost no water meters.
Institutional weaknesses and lack of sustainability External financing institutions were concerned with the insufficient capacity to operate and maintain the infrastructure they were financing in Lebanon. Until 2000 there were 21 water authorities in Lebanon who were financially and technically weak. The limited sewer networks, if they existed at all, were managed by the respective municipalities, which had often even less technical and financial capacity than the water authorities. In the absence of a sanitation tariff, municipalities lacked the financial resources to operate and maintain sanitation infrastructure. The experience with wastewater treatment plants is illustrative of the difficulties encountered. For example, the operating costs for the first wastewater treatment plant in Lebanon, the Al-Ghadir plant in Beirut completed in 1997, still have to be subsidized by the government because the municipal governments in the service area (the Beirut and Baabda districts) lack the resources to do so.
Furthermore, incomplete infrastructure considerably reduces the development impact of the plant. Because the construction of sewers was delayed, most of the sewage of Southern Beirut still flowed into the Mediterranean without any treatment via both the Al Ghadir River and sea outlets. The Al Ghadir plant provides only preliminary treatment, followed by discharge through a 2.6 km marine outfall. The second wastewater treatment plant built in Lebanon, intended for the city of Baalbek and completed in 2001, could not be put into operation, because both the sewer system and the outfall main were not completed. Wastewater treatment plants in Tripoli and Sidon were inaugurated in 2009 and 2010 respectively, both long after they were due to be completed.
Sector reform At the national level, policy-making was fragmented between the Ministry of Energy and Water in charge of drinking water supply and the Ministry of Interior in charge of sanitation, as well as other stakeholders such as the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Environment. The donors thus pressed for a sector reform that would create commercially oriented regional water and sanitation companies that would achieve economies of scale. In 2000 a new water law was passed that created four Regional Water Establishments. However, the transfer of actual responsibilities to them remained slow and the water authorities continued to remain in charge of operating infrastructure.
The Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) also remained in charge of procuring works and consulting contracts, including service contracts to operate infrastructure despite the responsibilities bestowed on the new Establishments under the Water Law. According to a 2010 World Bank ten years after the Water Law has been passed it "has not been fully enforced and implemented, thus creating institutional uncertainty over sector responsibilities". Furthermore, "the four RWEs severely lack managerial and financial autonomy and are impeded by limited inter-agency coordination and weak central government oversight. They have not been able to effectively operate and maintain water supply networks, fully engage with the private sector, recover costs and hire qualified staff".
Private sector participation In 2003 the municipality of Tripoli signed the first and so far only management contract for water supply in Lebanon. This was done after four years of preparation that required passing a new law (Law 401) to allow public-private partnerships in water supply. The contract was awarded to the French company Ondéo‐Liban, a subsidiary of Suez Environnement, after a competitive bidding process. The cost of 20 million Euro was financed by the French Development Agency. The contract included the operation, maintenance, and installation of equipment, the organization of the billing system and collection of water tariffs, the management of human and financial resources, and the supervision of the construction of a tertiary water supply network and the expansion of a water treatment plant.
The private company increased the billing efficiency from 30% to 60%, reduced water rationing, mapped the network, updated the customer inventory, computerized the accounting system and trained staff. Non-revenue water was reduced from 65% to 45% and the 10-year-long water rationing in the areas of Qalamoun, Qobbe and Abi Samra was eliminated, making Tripoli the only city in Lebanon that receives water 24 hours per day. Water quality and the customer service were also improved. However, cost recovery was not achieved despite an increase in tariffs because bill collection efficiency remained low. The company was unable to introduce metering, although 40,000 meters were acquired.
The contract faced a number of challenges: According to a study by the French Institute for Public-Private Partnerships, the supervisory committee was composed of former employees of the public water company who were not convinced of the usefulness of private sector participation. Despite its achievements, the management contract ended in 2007 without being extended. Impact of 2006 War Water infrastructure, especially in the South, was further damaged during the Israeli-Lebanese War of 2006. Israeli armed forces "destroyed water tanks, springs and pipelines, leaving most of southern Lebanon totally cut off from mains water supply in the immediate aftermath of the war", according to UN sources.
The infrastructure was rebuilt after the war, partly by Hizbollah's construction company Jihad al-Bina. Foreign donors also played an important role in reconstruction, including UNICEF and Technisches Hilfswerk from Germany. Impact of Syrian Civil War The Syrian Civil War has exacerbated Lebanon's water stress, as Syrian refugees have expanded Lebanon's population by a quarter. Humanitarian actors have sought to improve water infrastructure, but coordinated longer-term efforts will be needed to meet current needs and guard against water crises in the future.
Responsibility for water supply and sanitation Among the key public stakeholders in the Lebanese water and sanitation sector are the Ministry of Water and Energy, which is in charge of policy and regulation; the Ministry of Finance, which provides funding and coordinates external cooperation; the Ministry of Environment; the Council for Development and Reconstruction, which is in charge of most investments in the sector; and four Regional Water Establishments, which are in charge of service provision. The sector is characterized by a significant gap between legal responsibilities of stakeholders and their actual activities. The legal text to organize the work of MEW has not been developed as of 2012.
MEW’s efforts are still dedicated to investment projects and not on policy and regulation. The Ministry still has units dedicated to investment studies, although these functions should have been transferred to the Water Establishments. Policy and regulation: The Ministry of Water and Energy Within the Lebanese government the Ministry of Water and Energy is in charge of developing and implementing policies related to water supply and sanitation. As of 2010, there was no specific policy or strategy document outlining the government’s policy in the sector. The Ministry seems to focus on energy and to pay less attention to water, not to speak of sanitation.
The legal framework consists of the Water Law 221/2000 that reorganized the sector into four Regional Water Establishments. The law was amended twice shortly after it was passed: Law 241/2000 reduced the number of Regional Water Establishments from 5 to 4; and Law 337/2001 included wastewater treatment in the responsibilities of the Regional Water Establishments and of the Ministry of Water and Energy. In October 2005 some bylaws for the aforementioned laws were published. Service provision: The four Regional Water Establishments Provision of drinking water supply and wastewater treatment is the responsibility of the four Regional Water Establishments that were created by the 2000 Water Law: Water of Beirut and Mount Lebanon – Head office in Beirut.
Water of North Lebanon – Head office in Tripoli. Water of Bekaa – Head Office in Zahle. Water of South Lebanon – Head office in Sidon (Saida). Although the establishments are legally responsible for irrigation and wastewater treatment, they are not engaged in these activities. There is no strategic or business planning, nor a focus on performance. There is a limited focus on IT and on asset management; customer service is fragmented. By law Lebanese water utilities should have 4,050 employees, but they actually had only 1,342 as of 2010. This is due to a hiring freeze imposed by the government.
The number of employees has thus declined during the first decade of the 21st century. The gaps at the lower levels were partially filled with temporary laborers. But there are also important gaps in managerial positions. The average number of staff is less than 2 per 1000 connections, much below the regional average. The Beirut-Mount Lebanon utility has only 1.6 staff per 1000 connections. Utilities are thus unable to perform some of their basic functions. The Board members of the Water Establishments are nominated by the Cabinet upon the proposition of the Minister of Energy and Water. Municipalities have no say in the nomination of Board members.
There have been only limited attempts to involve the private sector in operating water and sewer systems. A management contract for the city of Tripoli with a French firm has not been renewed after it expired (see history section). The operation and maintenance of sewer systems remains under the responsibility of municipalities. The Council for Development and Reconstruction and other national agencies The Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) plays a major role in the sector, because it is responsible for the planning and construction of much of the public water investments and all wastewater investments in the country. It is also the implementing agency for most investment programs financed by external agencies.
In addition, the Council of the South and the Central Fund for the Displaced have financed almost half of all investments in water supply in Lebanon during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Council for the South, nominally under the Primer Minister's Office, is controlled by the mostly Shiite Amal Movement of Nabih Berri, the speaker of Lebanon's Parliament since 1992. Financial aspects and efficiency Tariffs Tariffs are set at different levels for each of the four regional water establishments. Within each service area tariffs are the same, although costs differ significantly. For example, Beirut receives most of its water by gravity, while in some other localities water needs to be pumped.
The following table shows residential water tariffs for the four regional utilities per year and per connection for 1m3/day, excluding VAT. The level of consumption is limited to 1m3 per day by a gauge installed on all residential connections. However, actual consumption is typically lower because of intermittent supply and low water pressure. The price of water per cubic meter obviously depends on the level of consumption, which varies and is not well known. Assuming an average-size household with 4.5 members that receives 100 liter per capita per day, the price of water is almost US$1/m3 in Beirut and US$0.66/m3 in the Bekaa.
Tariffs in Lebanon thus are higher than in Jordan (US$0.65/m3 including sanitation) and much higher than in Syria or in Egypt (US$0.05/m3). The water bill has to be paid in full in advance for an entire year, which imposes a heavy burden on the poor. A household in the poorest quintile connected to the network paid an average of LBP 421,000 for water in 2008, corresponding to 3.7% of its income. More than half of these expenditures are for alternative water sources such as bottled water or water from trucks. Cost recovery Cost recovery varies between utilities. The collection rate (i.e.
the shares of bills actually paid) in Beirut-Mount Lebanon has been consistent at almost 90%, so that the utility had accumulated over US$170 million as cash surplus in 2010. However, as of 2010 it was estimated to be only 62%. In the three other Regional Water Establishments collection rates are lower at 58% in the North, 52% in the South and only 18% in the Bekaa. In the three Establishments not even operating costs are recovered. The Government often steps in to pay for operating expenses in addition to financing investments in water infrastructure. Cost recovery is lowest for the Bekaa water company.
According to a World Bank report, "there appears to be an informal understanding between water companies and households: many households don’t receive their water allotment, and the water companies often don’t pressure households to pay their bills." Given the current conditions and alternatives, households have stated in surveys that they are reluctant to pay more for better public service. Even where meters have been installed, there is no volumetric tariff. Flat fees are charged regardless of the existence of the meters. There thus is no financial incentive to save water. There is also no wastewater tariff. Investment and financing Public investment for water and wastewater sector amounted to 0.4 percent of GDP in the late 90s and early 2000s.
This includes US$97m for water supply and US$32m for sanitation every year. Investments are to a large extent financed by external grants and loans. For example, 73% of CDR-executed investments in the water sector were financed by external donors and 56% of its wastewater investments. External cooperation Many external partners have supported and continue to support the Lebanese water and sanitation sector with financial and technical assistance. These include the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the European Investment Bank (EIB), France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United States and the World Bank.
The donors in the water and sanitation sector tend to focus on particular regions of Lebanon: The Arab Fund focuses on the South and Beirut, The EIB on Mount Lebanon and the North, France on the North and the South, Germany on Beirut and Mount Lebanon, Japan on Mount Lebanon and the South, and the U.S. on the South. The World Bank is one of the few donors active in the Bekaa, in addition to Beirut. Most external financial assistance is in the form of loans, while technical assistance is typically in the form of grants. In the aftermath of the 2006 Israeli-Lebanese war the country received substantial additional financial assistance, including grants from countries and agencies that normally provide only loans for infrastructure development in Lebanon, such as Germany and the World Bank.
Most external assistance is channeled through the government, except for U.S. assistance, which is provided directly to consulting firms working in cooperation with the government or NGOs. The United Nations also plays an important role in the Lebanese water sector, particularly through UNICEF and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Donor coordination in Lebanon is the responsibility of a donor coordination unit in the Ministry of Finance, which itself is supported by UNDP. In many countries where multiple donors provide aid to the water and sanitation sector there is some form of a water-specific donor coordination mechanism. This does not seem to be the case in Lebanon.
Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development The Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development financed a water project in Sidon and Sour (Kuwaiti Dinar 10m approved in 1996), Beirut (Kuwaiti Dinar 17m approved in 2002) and for water and wastewater in various other areas of Lebanon (Kuwaiti Dinar 25m in 2006). European Union and European Investment Bank The European Union supported a national water dialogue on Integrated Water Resources Management as part of the Mediterranean component of the EU Water Initiative. The dialogue, which included NGOs and the private sector in addition to government representatives and donors, was kicked off by a meeting in November 2005.
Its numerous objectives included to "identify insufficiencies and bottlenecks in key prerequisites posed by donors for national investments on the water sector", the "establishment of a permanent platform for cooperation between key involved partners at the national level including donor agencies" and the endorsement of a "national roadmap". A second "consultation seminar" in April 2009 did not mention any more the objectives of the 2005 seminar, but instead offered numerous recommendations for the future, such as "to plan together the follow-up steps that can constribute to an Integrated Water Resources Management Resources Management process in the country". The European Investment Bank financed a wastewater treatment plant in Tripoli and water treatment facilities in the touristic Keserwan District.
France The French Development Agency (AFD) supports numerous water and sanitation projects in Lebanon. Under a 2m Euro loan the water distribution network in the Southern town of Jezzine was rehabilitated after the retreat of the Israeli army in 1999. Another 12m Euro loan was approved in 2001 to build an "emergency" bulk water supply line and to rehabilitate distribution networks in the Southern towns of Nabah El Tasseh and Jabal Amel. In 2007 AFD approved a small grant to rehabilitate the water network of the Southern town of Bkassine with co-financing provided by the French city Lille. In Tripoli a 20m Euro project supported the extension of a water treatment plant and the strengthening of the distribution network since 2001, supporting the public-private partnership with the French company Ondeo initiated subsequently.
A 30m Euro sanitation loan approved in 2004 allowed the construction of sewers in Tripoli. In October 2012 the Ministry of Water and AFD signed a US$90.7 million project to contribute to the financing of a US$200 million wastewater project in Keserwan District in Mount Lebanon. Germany Germany has committed funds to improve sanitation in localities close to the Jeita springs to reduce bacteriological pollution of this important spring that is the main water source of Beirut and other localities. It also supported sanitation in Beirut and a reconstruction project in the South It also provides technical assistance to support water sector reform through a project that ran from 2008 to the end of 2013, implemented by GIZ (ex-GTZ).
The project aimed to strengthen the regulatory capacity of MEW, the technical and management capacities of the four Water Establishments and to improve relations between customers and the Establishments. Among other activities, it systematically collected data on performance indicators (benchmarking), prepared business plans, valued fixed assets and identified all customers. The project also established water balances in pilot areas where customer meters had been installed, carried out customer satisfaction surveys in the same areas, and prepared the ground for the adoption for consumption-based tariffs. However, these tariffs are not yet applied. It also tried to prepare the Establishments for taking over their responsibilities in wastewater management through a “Declaration of Principles towards Sustainable Wastewater Management".
However, the Establishments have not yet taken over this responsibility. The German public disaster relief organization Technisches Hilfswerk (THW), which works mainly through volunteers, provided emergency assistance in the South only days after the 2006 hostilities ended. It first installed a laboratory and carried out drinking water analyses. Afterwards it installed chlorination equipment in 30 tanks benefiting 15,000 people, constructed a water tower and repaired three other water towers. THW worked on behalf of the German government, the Humanitarian Aid department of the European Commission (ECHO) and UNICEF. Islamic Development Bank The Islamic Development Bank has agreed to finance the construction of Bisri dam in 2008.
The dam on the Awali River will store water that is to be supplied as drinking water to Beirut. Italy Italy supports the Lebanese water and sanitation sector through various technical assistance grants, including a US$1.8m grant approved in 2010 to create a "Lebanese center for water management and preservation" and a hydrological study in an unspecified area in cooperation with UNDP. The Center for Water Management and Preservation, to be located in the Ministry of Water and Energy and to be established with the help of UNDP and Italian funding over a 2-year period, is supposed to "coordinate on-going water programmes", "develop an action plan on sustainable water policy" and to achieve "national public awareness raising", among other things.
Lebanon also received water monitoring equipment from Italy to be installed on the Orontes River, as well as the Hasbani River and the Wazzani spring. The two latter flow into Israel. Japan Japan provided a soft loan (25 years maturity, 7 grace years, 2.5% interest) of about US$120m for wastewater collection and treatment in Sidon and water supply in Keserwan District in 1996. In Sidon the project was to finance a sewer network with a length of 38 km, a trunk sewer with a length of 7 km, two sewage pumping stations and a preliminary treatment plant with a capacity of 33,600m3/day.
Later the design was changed to add the financing of a 2 km sea outfall, increase the capacity of the treatment plant to 45,000 m3/day, increase the number of pumping stations to 13 and to reduce the length of sewers financed. The construction of the wastewater treatment plant was finished in 2006, but it became operational only in 2010 when at least some of the trunk sewers were finally connected to the plant. In Keserwan District Japan finances the expansion of a water intake at the Al Madiq spring, 50 km of transmission mains, 13 pumping stations 22 service reservoirs and 202 km of distribution mains.
The project will alleviate water scarcity in a number of villages where demand is twice as high as available supply. As of 2008, a centerpiece of the project—a 4 km tunnel with a diameter of almost 4m—was under construction. Kuwait The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development has provided 55m Kuwaiti Dinar (US$187m) in soft loans (2.5% interest, 24–30 years maturity) for water supply and sanitation between 1993 and 2010. The projects are located in Beirut, the South and the Matn District in Mount Lebanon governorate. The latest water project supported by Kuwait in Lebanon is the Qaisamani Dam, which will provide 35 villages in Mount Lebanon with drinking water and for which a US$19m loan agreement was signed in 2010.