Abdullah Al-Alyani, a resident of east Jeddah, said water is being pumped to their houses once every 10 days. “We make up for the shortage by getting tankers to deliver water,” he said. Abdullah Hawsawi, another resident, said only those who have large water-storage tanks are able to manage without buying water from tankers. “The demand for water increases during summer, especially as our children are taking their exams. The amount of water we’re receiving every 10 days isn’t enough,” he added.

The National Water Company (NWC) has assured residents that the problem will end very soon and that they will begin receiving water every day.

“In the coming few days water will reach the eastern districts on a daily basis instead of once every 10 days,” the company said. It said the current amount of 850,000 cubic meters for the city of Jeddah will increase to a million cubic meters once the Shuaiba plant begins to operate. Shuaiba will provide an additional 150,000 cubic meters of water.

The NWC said a million cubic meters of water will be pumped into the city every day to ensure all districts have sufficient amounts of water.