New project set to alleviate the capital's water crisis

With hot weather approaching, a new project will help alleviate ongoing water shortages in the Syrian capital Damascus and in surrounding areas. The Damascus Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DAWSSA) has developed a new plan in coordination with the Ministry of Irrigation (MoI) for the use of new water resources. “Underground water observed in some limited points must be transferred through pipelines to supply many more remote districts and towns. DAWSSA has put forward a plan to improve the water supply and distribution systems, as well as reducing leaks in pipelines to secure safe potable water to Damascus residents,” director-general of DAWSSA, Muwafaq Khallouf, told IRIN in Damascus. At present, the available water in Damascus city is 200 million cu.m. a year, however, an additional 45 million cu.m. will be needed by 2010, Khallouf said. He pointed out that the Japanese government had recently extended a US $7 million grant to the Syrian government to develop new water resources. “The project will secure up to 40,000 cu.m. of water per day, and its implementation will start by April this year and will be completed by the end of July 2007,” Khallouf explained. The Japanese grant will help meet the increasing demand for water in Damascus and its suburbs, particularly during the hot season between May and August when the flow of water from the main sources of the Fijeh Spring, 15 km to the west of the capital, and the Barada River, 45 km to the northwest of the capital, falls dramatically. The capital has experienced water shortages caused by low rainfall, and the inefficient use of water. “The “Fijeh Spring” is the major source of drinking water in Damascus. At present, Damascus consumes 550,000 cu.m. of water a day with a population of 3 million,” Khallouf added. But water consumption in Damascus increases during the hot weather to 700,000 cu.m. a day and the Fijeh Spring is incapable of meeting the city’s water needs for most of the year, Khallouf explained. Therefore, the water from Fijeh Spring is mixed with water from wells, of which there are 160 in Damascus and water is rationed for eight to 16 hours a day during periods of drought. In addition, the southern governorates of Syria – Damascus, Quneitra, 67 km of Damascus, Daraa 101 km from Damascus, and Sweida, 106 km from the capital, also experience severe water shortages. The Damascus countryside suffers the most because it depends on ground water from wells only, Khallouf pointed out. Furthermore, within the framework of Japan’s Grassroots Grant Assistance programme, DAWSSA recently received the final donation of equipment and pipes for the rehabilitation of water distribution pipelines in the capital. The project has effectively contributed to reducing leaking pipes from 34.7 percent in 1997, to 22 percent in 2003, saving around 135,000 cu.m. of water a day. Khallouf noted that the total amount of Japanese grant assistance to the project was $25 million, while the Syrian government allocated $22.85 million. Government officials said they were placing more importance on this issue. The minister of housing, Mohammad Nihad Mushantat, told IRIN: “The Syrian government attaches great importance to the development of water resources to meet the growing demand, resulting from population growth and expanding agricultural and industrial investment activities. We are also taking into consideration the decline in the average rainfall over the last few years.” In addition, the Japanese government is considering the possibility of cooperation in the implementation of two new projects; the development of new water resources to the northwest of Damascus and the rehabilitation of water tunnels from Fijeh Spring to the capital.