HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – Hassan sits by his private water well, filling water tankers and reflecting on how the reduced water level of the well has affected the filling process.
Hassan al-Awad, 47, owns a water well that feeds the city of Hasakah and its countryside. The water is distributed with the help of tankers. He told North Press, “last year in winter, it used to take 18-20 minutes to fill a 100-barrel-capacity tanker. Now it takes more than an hour.”
Al-Awad is astonished by the decline of the water level, saying, “it is still winter and the beginning of spring. The well may dry out by summer.”
The wells of al-Hemmah, west of Hasakah, northeast Syria, are now the only water wells for the people of Hasakah. The owner fears that the wells may soon dry out, calling it a “catastrophe,” especially, “if Alouk water station does not operate anymore, over one million individuals will die of thirst.”
Since Turkey occupied the city of Ras al-Ain (Sere Kaniye) in mid-October 2019, it has halted operations at the nearby Alouk pumping station over 30 times. In one instance, it stopped pumping water for over two months.
In addition to the wells in al-Hemmah, the other main drinking water source for the people of Hasakah and its countryside are the wells in Nafasha area, northeast Hasakah, and it is under the control of Syrian government forces.
Reduced to half
Muhammad Amawi, 32, from al-Hemmah, owns a private drinking water well.
He said, “the water declined by 50 percent. It used to take seven minutes to fill a tanker, but now it takes 20-25 minutes. Tankers, that used to take 15 minutes to be filled, now take 30-45 minutes.”
The declining water level of the wells negatively affects pumps, which now need to be operated for longer hours, leading to damage, in addition to consuming larger amounts of diesel, according to Amawi.
Despite repeated shutdowns of Alouk station in the last three years, the water level was adequate. “For the past 10-15 days, the water level has declined. It is probable that after a month or a month and a half the wells will dry up,” he said.
The reduced levels have not only affected the population and the owners of the wells, but the owners of tankers, too who used to transport water for 1.500-2.000 Syrian pounds (or around $0.20-0.26) for each 200-liter-capacity barrel, which means the cost of a tanker with 1.000-liter capacity ranges between 7.500-10.000 SYP (equal to $1-1.33).
Two months ago, tanker owners used to wait for 10 minutes to fill their tankers with water. Now “I wait for 17-20 minutes,” Tayseer al-Ali said.
Al-Ali, who owns a small truck that carries a 30-barrel tank, said that since Alouk station has been shut down, “we suffer more and more each year.”
He indicated that the low water levels are visible in every well “which we fill our tankers from.”
Red flag
Issa Younes, the co-chair of the Water Directorate in Hasakah, noted that the wells that feed Hasakah and its countryside are surface wells.
“The water level has declined as a result of little rain and declining water levels of the Khabur River, which feeds dozens of wells in al-Hemmah area, which in turn feeds Hasakah with drinking water,” he said.
“The decline is a red flag because there are no quick alternatives to address the water crisis in Hasakah,” he added.
“There are over 50 wells in the outskirts of Hasakah. One of the main reasons [for the water shortage in wells] is the absence of rain and the drawing of water in great amounts as a result of the shutdown of Alouk station, as well as the large population of Hasakah and its countryside, estimated at over one million,” according to Younes.