Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH – Water crisis has hit a number of east Jeddah districts after the halt of supply from the pipeline for more than two weeks pushing residents to depend on water tankers to quench their thirst.

The crisis has created a black market and water tankers shooting up prices. Malfunctioning of the pumping system in Quwaiza has further complicated the issue as water tankers had to wait long hours to get filled.

Al-Madina Arabic daily’s correspondent contacted the National Water Company to know the reason for the crisis but it did not respond.

The NWC was supposed to pump water to each district on the basis of a specific schedule but it has failed in its duty, leaving citizens at the mercy of water tanker drivers who charge high prices. Residents urged the company to supply water regularly and repair the pumping system.

“We get water from the pipeline only once a month,” said Abdullah Al-Garni while speaking to Al-Madina. “This will not meet our water requirements. The supply has stopped for one and a half month in some districts of east Jeddah,” he added.

“We don’t know when Jeddah water crisis will end. It seems that water crisis is part and parcel of the city due to negligence of officials. Most people in the area are forced to depend on water tankers to meet their daily requirements,” he explained.

Mohammed Al-Sulami urged the company to supply water at least two days weekly to every district in east Jeddah to solve the problem. If they revise the schedule accordingly the supply will not stop more than six days in a month and this will not cause any crisis, he said.

“Water will reach every neighborhood on alternate days,” Al-Sulami told Al-Madina while urging NWC officials to stop leakage of water from the pipeline. “They have been talking about repairing of pipeline and installation of new pipes but nothing has happened on the ground.”

Othman Al-Zubaidi also spoke about lack of water for a long period in the district. “This is not a new thing that has occurred accidentally. It’s actually the result of long negligence. The present crisis was created by the slow supply through tankers due to malfunctioning of the pump.”

Meanwhile, a water tanker driver said he was waiting for five hours in the queue to get water from the supply center. “In order to reach the tanker at the customer’s house it would take some more hours,” he pointed out. He said it was difficult for them to give a specific time for supply.

Al-Madina contacted Khaled Maqbool of NWC to know the reason for the delay in water supply but he did not respond. “He promised to give a reply but did not contact us,” said the newspaper’s reporter Ahmed Al-Johani.