Madinah water shortage will end in two weeks

The water shortage issue in Madinah will end in two weeks as maintenance works have been expedited, Saleh Jblaoi, director general of water in Madinah, has said. A total of 4,000 water tanks are being provided to the residents at nominal rates in view of the shortage of water, resulting from a delay in the maintenance works, he said. Jblaoi said the steps to address the problem in Madinah have been taken in accordance with the direction issued by Prince Faisal bin Salman, the Madinah governor, who also said that the water crisis should end before the onset of summer. He was speaking at a press conference attended by Waheeb Al-Sahli, deputy assistant for development affairs in the governorate. Jblaoi said the water utility in Madinah has a storage of 2.5 million cubic meters as reserves which contributed to easing the water crisis witnessed by the city recently. “The reason for the crisis is the maintenance works that lasted 14 weeks instead of the scheduled 12 weeks.” The Madinah governor has issued directions to distribute water free of charge among those with low incomes and beneficiaries of social insurance, he said. Explaining the circumstances leading to the water shortage, Jblaoi said: “We delivered 4,000 tanks a month at nominal rates to citizens, especially those who live outside the city or in high altitude areas where the water network cannot reach.” He said both Madinah and Yanbu are totally dependent on desalinated water, that is about 83 percent, and the rest comes from underground wells. Al-Sahli explained the role of the governorate in resolving the water crisis through the active role of the city’s governor. “Prince Faisal bin Salman followed up the problem step by step from the beginning and issued directions to immediately deliver water to the citizens,” he said. -arabnews