AMMAN -- Residents of Aqaba Governorate received water in their homes on Wednesday night after almost a week with no supply.
Kamal Zu'bi, director of the Aqaba Water Company, told The Jordan Times yesterday that pumping from the Disi reservoir to the main water tanks in the governorate resumed on Wednesday afternoon.
Zu'bi said all homes and facilities in the Red Sea resort would receive pumped water in a maximum of 24 hours.
The governorate witnessed a severe water crisis over the past few days as a result of damage sustained by the main pipeline in last week's flash floods.
Last Thursday, heavy rainfall resulted in floods that killed nine people in the southern and eastern regions of the country, causing extensive material damage and injuring many.
The floods damaged the Aqaba Water Treatment Plant, when a large amount of water, mud and rubble flowed into the rooms housing the electric pumps.
Sections of the pipeline conveying water to the Aqaba Governorate from the Disi reservoir were also damaged, disrupting the area's water supply.
Although Aqaba residents were relieved that the water supply had been restored, they said the shortage had severely affected their lives and jobs.
"I am happy of course that we have water at home now. I realise that the concerned authorities did their best to fix the problem. However, it was really bad being without any water for more than four days. Over the past few days, I saw people fighting in the streets to get water from tanks that were distributing it free," said one resident of the port city.
"I heard that a water tank driver was beaten up in Al Shallah area and taken to hospital, when he refused to give someone in a pickup more than the allocated four gallons, he added.
Mohammad Abdo, who works at the Muhit Fish Restaurant, said the number of customers dropped to almost half. "Before they entered, the customers would ask if we had any water," Abdo told The Jordan Times.
"I managed over the past four days because we brought water from Amman and we had some stored. The price of water tanker containing 10 metres rose to JD120 from JD30," he said.
Abu Al Abed, a vegetable shop owner, said his sales decreased.
"You would not believe what I saw in the streets here. People were fighting to get the free water being distributed. I felt as if I was in Somalia or Sudan... Police had to regulate the queues because people would crowd around the water tanks," he told The Jordan Times.
The Jordan National Red Crescent Society sent 13 water tanks to the port city on Tuesday and Tala Bay contributed 1,500 cubic metres of water to address the problem and reduce the negative impact on people.
Aqaba Governor Khaled Awadallah said the authorities had increased the number of water tanks offering free water to citizens to 80 and the city was divided into 22 areas to facilitate the distribution process.
By Mohammad Ghazal
© Jordan Times 2006
