JEDDAH, 13 June 2006 — Jeddah residents will dip into the city’s water reserves this summer, a high-ranking water authority official announced, local media reported yesterday.
Abdul Rahman Al-Muhammadi, the director general of the water authority, told a press conference on Sunday that the city would max out its operations to supply residents with their water requirements.
“Every possible step will be taken to avoid any disruption in supply and all the Ashyab pumping stations will be put into operation to maximum capacity,” Al-Madinah newspaper quoted Al-Muhammadi as saying.
Al-Muhammadi promised new water and drainage projects to be commissioned in the near future. In order to boost the consumer supply lines and benefit maximum number of people the lines will be connected directly to the reservoirs at Briman and Quwaiza.
The ongoing projects included the replacement of the city’s two main lines over the next three years. Work on the support lines will be completed in a year.
The Ashyab reservoir is being expanded to contain a greater volume of water at a cost of SR15 million and work will be completed in one year.
Another SR13 million will be spent to enhance the capacity of the Briman pumping facilities in the coming 10 months. A SR15-million pumping station at Kilo 14 on Makkah Road will also be completed in 12 months. Work on new supply lines and connections to houses is already under way.
The official also said the city is building huge new tanks to receive and store water from the Shuaibah-3 desalination plant.
While answering questions on the present supply schedules in various districts of Jeddah, the director outlined the current distribution system.
“North and central Jeddah get water every eight days. On the other hand the south zone gets water only once in 12 days. While the department supplies water to southeastern and elevated areas in the city only once in 20 days, people in east Jeddah are supplied every 10 days,” said Al-Muhammadi.
Muhammadi pointed out that the population density, size of the population and the water levels are the major factors that determine the time schedule of the supply in residential districts.
Commenting on the role of the department’s new operations office in the city, the director said, “The new office receives complaints from customers and send workers to fix the problems.”
Muhammadi warned the consumers who upset the supply system by illegally installing motor pumps to draw water from the supply lines that their lines would be disconnected immediately and supply will be restored only if they paid a fine of SR1,000.
Rationalized use of water could save up to 30 percent of consumption, the director added.
Five contracting companies are already working on the sewage scheme for the city, the director general said.
