New water crisis looming in al-Hasakah, Syria

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen Net
17 Jul 2022 13:34
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The Director General of the Water Establishment in the city of al-Hasakah explains the reason behind the significant drop in water supply in the area.

Signs of a new water crisis in al-Hasakah, Syria.

The city of al-Hasakah and its countryside began experiencing signs of a new drinking water crisis due to water cuts as a result of assaults on the electricity line that feeds the Allouk water station, which happens to be the only source of water to around one million people.

Some neighborhoods have entered their third week without water, while government agencies operated seven urgently established desalination plants, to serve as an alternative source in emergencies.

In a statement to Al Mayadeen Net, the Director General of the Water Establishment in al-Hasakah, Mahmoud Al-Akla, confirmed that the Allouk water station operates with 19 wells and three to four horizontal pumps. He mentioned that encroachments by the armed militias supported by Turkey on the electricity line, which charges the station from the Darbasiyah power station, led to a 50% decrease in the water supply.

Al-Akla identified the reason for the decrease in the supply to less than half, blaming it on "electricity theft from the station, which is used to irrigate lands and private farms." He pointed out that the Russians were informed of the recent violations, aiming for cooperation to reach a solution.

The Allouk station was taken over by Turkish militants, which led to a decrease in the drinking water supply in the area. The water station happens to be only 5 km away from the city of Ras Al-Ain, which also fell to Turkish militants in 2019, during the Turkish "Peace Spring" offensive.

The water cuts reoccurred around 30 times before an agreement was reached between the Russian Reconciliation Center in Qamishli and the Turkish occupation army to neutralize the station, continue pumping water from it, and prevent encroachments affecting the pumping.