Water Crisis Hits Five Villages in Rural Raqqa for 12 Days
Residents of the village of Al-Hukumiyah and four neighboring villages in rural Raqqa have been enduring a humanitarian crisis for the past 12 days following a complete shutdown of their main water pumping system. The affected areas include the villages of Al-Hukumiyah, Al-Jarbu, Al-Hatash, Al-Kadru, and Hazimah, where residents rely primarily on two pumps to meet their daily water requirements.
Engineer Hayan Al-Jassim, Director of the General Establishment for Water and Sanitation in Raqqa, explained that the system failure was caused by the burnout of a 400 kVA electrical transformer that powered the pumping station in Al-Hukumiyah. Al-Jassim confirmed that the unit has been removed and transferred to maintenance workshops, with repair crews working to restore service as quickly as possible.
Beyond this specific breakdown, Al-Jassim highlighted broader technical challenges facing the local water sector. He noted that scheduled maintenance on main irrigation canals, or periodic interruptions to irrigation water supplies, occasionally lead to a decrease in water flow reaching pumping stations. Addressing these issues requires continuous coordination between relevant authorities to ensure stable supply and timely notification to citizens regarding service schedules.
Meanwhile, local residents have expressed growing frustration over the prolonged outage, which has severely impacted basic domestic hygiene and daily household needs, particularly for families with children. Local inhabitants, including Faisal Al-Ali, Fatima Al-Hassan, and Abdul Haq Al-Ali, stated that relying on private water tankers has become a heavy financial burden on their families. The purchased water is often insufficient, and the limited availability of tankers frequently forces residents to wait for days before they can secure a delivery.
In response to the ongoing shortage, residents are calling on the authorities to expedite the repair of the transformer and restore the pumping operations. Furthermore, the community is urging officials to provide emergency relief, such as free or subsidized water tankers, to alleviate the suffering of affected households. The residents have emphasized the urgent need for a long-term mechanism to ensure stable water supply and prevent the recurrence of such failures, which have become a persistent source of distress for the region’s population.
Source: Syria Focus Arabic
