Water recently returned to Beirut’s homes after a hiatus of about 3 weeks.
However, fears dwell among the Lebanese and also with the director-general of the Beirut and Mount Lebanon Water Corporation, Jean Gibran, that water will be cut off across Lebanon in about two months.
The residents of Beirut and neighboring areas had it tough during the recent interruption of drinking water due to an emergency failure in the main water line that feeds its main reservoir.
Regarding the malfunctions in “Qastal Beirut”, which is the main water line that feeds the capital, Jean Gibran said, “It is 62 years old. We are trying to repair it but it’s not working.”
He explained during an interview with LBCI that they “changed the contractor in cooperation with UNICEF, and the situation is difficult financially because the reforms are in dollars, and the contractor worked twice and did not succeed, so we changed it.”
He added: “We are seriously discussing the renewal of Beirut’s water network in cooperation with the municipality and the governor.”
Recently, an official move by the MPs for Change brought the water to some areas of Beirut, but not to the normal rate.
They inspected the progress of the reform process in the aforementioned line after repeated promises from the Beirut and Mount Lebanon Water Corporation.
Fears of a return to water cuts were renewed due to the electricity and diesel crisis, according to Sky News Arabia.
An owner of a gas station by the name of Amjad told Sky News Arabia: “The water returned Monday to some areas, but not as it should, and there are other areas that are still suffering without water.”
Also, Samer Sinno, a resident of the Ras Beirut area, told the news agency that the water was cut off in the areas of Al-Hamra, Caracas, and the vicinity of Koraytem a month and a half ago.
“There are people who resorted to buying water and some of them used wells, but its water is salty and not suitable for drinking,” he said.
Jean Gibran raised the alarm during his televised interview with LBCI, stating that the water could be cut off in two months in all of Lebanon if “we do not help.”
He explained that they don’t have the ability to fix any failure that might occur because of the contractors evading “the issue of checks.”
