The reality of water in As-Suwayda... Challenges and Solutions

The Minister of Water Resources in the caretaker government, Engineer Osama Abu Zeid, visited As-Suwayda where he met with the heads of some municipalities and those involved in the water institution and the Water Resources Directorate with the aim of providing immediate solutions to address the drinking water file in the As-Suwayda Governorate.

Minister Abu Zeid also emphasized that the most important problems facing the As-Suwayda Water Institution are the malfunctioning wells, power outages, in addition to the low collection activities, which do not exceed 1% compared to the financial needs of the institution monthly. He clarified that the collection amounts did not exceed 15 million Syrian pounds despite having 51 thousand subscribers in the city and 88 thousand subscribers in the countryside.
The minister added that the institution needs large amounts monthly, including 2 billion Syrian pounds for fuel costs, employee salaries, minor maintenance, and 3 billion for projects and developing the deteriorating infrastructure of wells, equipment, and networks, in addition to debts amounting to 85 billion to the electricity company, fuel suppliers, and contractors.

He pointed out that the water problem in the governorate revolves around relying on groundwater wells to secure drinking water due to the absence of any other water resource. He explained that the wells are suffering from malfunctions in the wells, which number 250 wells, due to the unstable power supply, which necessarily requires relying on surface water and establishing treatment plants to improve the water situation in the governorate.

Abu Zeid also indicated that the ministry's current plan includes working on reactivating all malfunctioning wells according to priority, which currently requires operating 35 wells without leaving any well out of service to address the critical water situation facing the governorate. He explained that 17 out of 20 submersible pumps are undergoing maintenance and will be put into service within 10 days.

The minister also mentioned that international organizations, including UNICEF, the Red Cross, and others, have conducted studies on a number of water well clusters and have pledged to repair dozens of wells within a few days and months.