JEDDAH, 5 June 2005 — Residents in various parts of Jeddah have reported an extreme water shortage, forcing more and more residents to rely on the expensive black market in water to avoid waiting in line for hours for a truckload of water.
Abu Amar, a resident of Al-Rawdah district, said: “Every summer we face the same problem, we are sick of waiting seven hours for our turn for a water truck.”
According to residents that Arab News met with at the water distribution department on Macarona Street, it takes five to seven hours of waiting time to get hold of a water truck. If you don’t want to wait a whole working day your only choice would be the black market located in front of the department gates. There the price of a truck laden with potable water can reach up to SR350, and varies according to the size of the truck and crowd.
“We have the same problem in our neighborhood, we completely depend on water trucks, because if you rely on the water system it is as if you were chasing after a mirage,” said Ali Al-Harbi, a resident of the Al-Thager district.
He added, “The funny thing about it is that every year we repeatedly say that next year we expect it to be better, but in fact it turns out to be worse.”
Abu Ragad, another resident of Al-Thager, said: “I work eight hours a day, it’s the end of the year, my kids are undergoing exams, they need some of my time to help them out in their studies. I also live in a building that doesn’t have a guard, nor do I have a driver. Do you think I have time to wait for a water truck? How am I supposed to manage my time in such situations? My only solution is the black market.”
Ibrahim Al-Amoudi, a Yemeni resident in the Old Airport area, said all the residents in their building chip in for a water truck.
“We have a had a problem the last couple of weeks, the water shortage has been greater than usual, so we were forced to pay more than we normally do,” he explained.
