Ibrahim Alawi

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

 

JEDDAH — Citizens living in east Jeddah districts have been suffering from a severe water supply shortage for the past couple of weeks.



Complaints of water shortages have been registered in districts Al-Samer, Al-Ajwad, Al-Manar, Al-Aziziyah, Al-Rehab and Mushrifah districts.



Omar Al-Hamrani, a citizen, said water used to reach him and his neighborhood on a weekly basis but they haven’t received any water in the last two weeks.



“We don’t know what is happening and we are afraid the main station does not have any water for us,” said Al-Hamrani.



Abdullah Al-Silmy, a citizen living in Al-Ajwad District, said residents haven’t received water for two weeks and their cisterns are drying out.



“When I went to Ashyab Braiman distribution center to bring a water tanker to my house, I found it was already crowded with the rest of the neighborhood suffering from the same problem. I, then, called the free landline of the company to deliver a water tank to my house but it has been a day since and no one sent anything,” said Al-Silmy.



Mohammad Al-Khaldi said he was at his brother’s house in Al-Samer District and he couldn’t find water to wash his hands.



“My brother told me he hasn’t received water for two weeks. He lives in a building with six other apartments with the same issue. He has been surviving by buying 20-liter containers of water,” said Al-Khaldi.



The head of the National Water Company in Jeddah Mohammad Al-Zahrani denied water was cut off to any neighborhood and said the company forced its employees to work overtime so water could be delivered to all districts.



“We did face a shortage of 100,000 cubic meters pumped from the Shuaibah desalination plan because the plant has been under renovation since January and will continue until April 20. We may have delayed some deliveries but the company is working on an alternative strategy to deliver water to people’s houses,” said Al-Zahrani.