Water shortage, old plants increase problems in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – An official in a water institution in Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria, said on Wednesday that water plants, that feed areas with drinking water, work according to the available capabilities.
Residents of villages in the western countryside of Deir ez-Zor have been complaining about lack of water for years, while concerned authorities say that the reason behind the water shortage is the failure of the old water plants.
Ashraf al-Alyan, director of Water Foundation at the Services and Municipalities Board of Deir ez-Zor Civil Council, affiliated with the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), said that 15 water plants in the western countryside of Deir ez-Zor work according to the available capabilities.
He told North Press that they work on constructing new plants to deliver water to other areas that suffer from water shortage and work on expanding systems.
There are no plants out of service due to the water shortage, but diseases may spread in the region due to contaminated water, he added.
In Oct. 2022, al-Alyan revealed that they are unable to pay for repairing water stations.
At the time, he told North Press that due to high costs of repairing and lack of financial capabilities in the foundation, the working was negatively affected.
Since February 2020, Turkey has withheld water from Euphrates River, breaching a 1987 treaty which entails Syria and Iraq should receive 500 cubic meters per second of water. At this moment, only 200 cubic meters is being let through by Turkey.