The price of water tanker has rose sharply here following an acute shortage of water supply in many parts of the capital last week. The official rate of a water tanker fixed by National Water Company (NWC) is SR72. But privately-owned companies are selling it at SR300 and above because of the high demand in districts that have been hit hard by water shortage. Several districts in Riyadh were facing the problem due to cracks in pipelines of desalinated water coming from the Eastern Province. The NWC has said that it has repaired the cracks in record time and established a joint round-the-clock operations room in coordination with relevant authorities. But according to residents who queued up at the water dispensing centers, they have not received regular water supply for more than a week. Shortage has forced them to buy water from the NWC-designated company. “The company has failed to send a water tank despite having paid the amount some 24 hours ago in advance,” said M. Ali, a resident of Al-Wazarat District. Ali, a salesman by profession, said it would be very difficult to manage without water, a basic necessity of life. “I have to go far off places to fetch a bottle of water or rely on mineral bottled water, which is very expensive if used in toilets and for cooking,” he said. He said it has already been a week since his residential building of eight apartments and others in the area received water supply from the regular municipal source. Districts such as Al-Wazarat, Gobaira, Manfouha, Sulai, Malaz, and Solaimaniya have been hit hard, he said. Nasser Al-Hussain, a Saudi national, said that despite NWC's claims of quick repairs, water supply to several districts in Riyadh remains affected and it has led to black-marketeering of water tanks by some unscrupulous vendors who are only exploiting the situation. He said the regular municipal water supply that comes twice every week has been either stopped altogether or reduced to six-hours from a 12-hour supply. “This is causing acute shortage prompting the residents to buy private water tanks,” he said. Residents from several districts who formed a long queue at the water dispensing center complained that the water they buy from the black market has been of inferior quality. The water tanks available at inflated price may be unfiltered well water, they said. “Lack of foam formation is an indication that the water contains impurities and is not fit for drinking,” said a resident. __
