Residents said water from the burst pipe has filled streets causing huge traffic jams, particularly during the morning and afternoon school rush. People who live close to the burst pipe have placed stones and wooden sheets at the place where the water is coming out from the ground to divert cars and ensure the road doesn’t collapse.
Exasperated by the municipality’s inaction, some residents have propped up large signs with messages in Arabic for the municipality saying, “The person you are calling is lifeless.”
“The pipe burst on Wednesday when it began raining. We informed the municipality straight away and the National Water Company (NWC) but nothing has been done so far,” said a local resident who asked for his name not to be published.
He added that water is still leaking and that the asphalt on the road has eroded.
Ayman Al-Oulaki, a citizen, criticized the delay in fixing the leakage, saying water has filled a number of streets. “The concerned government departments need to do something to get this matter sorted,” he said.
Mansour Aba Nammi, another citizen, said the burst pipe has disrupted the flow of traffic, especially since there is a girls’ school close by. He added that the pipe is most likely carrying desalinated water, as no foul smells seem to be coming from the water.
However, a NWC spokesman said the source of the water is not the company's mains carrying desalinated water. “We stopped pumping potable water to the district to check whether the leak is in one of our pipes. It was found that the water continued to flow out, which means the reason for the leakage is something else," he said.
The spokesman said if the leaking water was from a NWC pipe, then water should have stopped coming after the supply was cut off. “This is not our pipe,” he said, adding that he hopes whoever is responsible moves quickly to put a stop to it.
