RIYADH, 7 May — Riyadh Governor Prince Salman ordered the Water and Sewage Department on Friday to supply tanker-trucks of licensed contractors with water free of charge in a decisive move to end the acute water shortage experienced in the capital city for the past several days.
The situation has also improved considerably with the resumption of pumping in one of the two burst pipes on Saturday after eight days of nonstop efforts to repair it. As a result, 90 percent of the supply has reportedly been resumed. The repairs on the second pipe line started yesterday and it is expected to be back in service within a few days.
Prince Salman intervened when tanker owners charged up to SR500, and according to some reports up to SR1,200, for a tanker truck which cost only between SR120 and SR200 before the crisis started.
The crisis started when two of the four huge pipelines carrying desalinated water from the eastern coast to Riyadh, burst at a point east of Riyadh. The breakdown in the supply cut an estimated 30 percent of the total supply of 760,000 cubic meters of water pumped to the city every day.
Director General of SWD in Riyadh, Khaled Al-Bawardi said the crowd and bustle at the eight water supply points in the city would reduce considerably with the free distribution combined with the re-commissioning of one of the damaged pipes.
According to a statement of the SWD, the water supply was not interrupted as about 900,000 cubic meters of water were pumped to all districts daily. However, breakdown of the two pipes reduced the pressure in the lines stopping water supply to some districts, the statement said.
The capital city consumes an average of 1.2 million cubic meters of water daily. While 40 percent of the city’s water need is supplied by underground wells, desalination plants in Jubail on the Arabian Gulf 600 kms away supply the remaining quantity.
