According to Jordan, the refugee influx following Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait resulted in an increase of contaminated influent to the treatment plant.

Iraq agrees that it is logical to assume that the increase of influent to As Samra wastewater treatment plant was due to the increase in the number of households, including households of refugees that were connected to the sanitary sewage system and that this might have resulted in poorer quality effluent from the plant due to the reduction in the wastewater retention time within the ponds.