JEDDAH – The water crisis in Jeddah has led black market prices for a 19-ton water tanker to rise to SR500, according to citizens. Informed sources blamed the National Water Company (NWC) for the ongoing problem. They said the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) pumped sufficient quantities of water but the NWC-administered networks did not distribute the water to the districts, resulting in the crisis. Residents of Jeddah said it was not reasonable for them to remain without water for so long. Saudi citizen Khaled Abdulkareem said residents were forced to go to the distribution points to pay for tankers, leading to overcrowding in the areas, especially in the evening. He believed the timescales for distributing water in Jeddah were the main cause of the shortages. “This is because water does not reach some districts except after a month. Water reaches some districts in 20 days and others after 12. “This creates crises because the water tank in any building only has capacity for less than five days' worth of water.” Another Saudi citizen, Hamad Al-Otaibi, expressed discontent about the situation. He said residents were suffering due to the long queues at the distribution points and the difficulty in getting ticket numbers denoting when they would be served. This has forced some people to turn to the black market, especially employees who cannot be absent from their workplaces. He added that the number of people at the distribution points was increasing with time despite official statements that the problem would be dealt with. “This indicates a lack of transparency in dealing with the crisis and us residents cannot keep paying over the odds for water. “We also fear that this crisis will continue over the summer.” Al-Otaibi said residents were not allowed to send building guards to get a number because of a rule stating that only Saudis can get tickets at the distribution points. He appealed to the officials in charge of water distribution to make it easier for the citizens to get numbers. Faisal Ali, a Saudi citizen, said: “Getting a tanker of water has become extremely difficult. “For several months some districts are living in a crisis. “Some areas have witnessed water cuts repeatedly, but now these have increased. “More districts are suffering. “There is a big problem and NWC should reconsider the distribution system. They should give due attention to this problem. The summer is on our doorsteps and I hope people don't suffer anymore.” Another Saudi citizen, Fahd Ghaith, said the water supply has been cut off from Al-Waziriyah and Al-Naeem districts. Previously water used to be pumped to the districts every 10 days but now it is pumped once every month, he claimed. The same situation applies to Al-Bawadi District. He said: “When you telephone them, they send you a tanker truck after 72 hours. “The problem is still existent.” Ayman Maghrabi, Saudi citizen, attributed the water shortage crisis to three factors — SWCC's maintenance of the desalination plant, inspection campaigns by Passports Department officials causing a number of potentially illegal workers to run away in fear of being arrested and bad organization of trucks in and out of Jeddah. The water crisis, which is in its eighth day as of Saturday, forced a number of women to wait in long queues in order to get water from the Al-Aziziyah water distribution points. Government officials and NWC heads have repeatedly promised to solve the problem.
