Enab Baladi – Ras al-Ain

Residents of the rural area of ​​Ras al-Ain, northwest of al-Hasakah, have been suffering from a gradual increase in water prices since last June. The price of a water tank with a capacity of five barrels rose from 60,000 to 100,000 Syrian pounds ($7) in August this year.

This increase is affecting the lives of residents and making access to “affordable” water a real challenge for them – at a time when day laborers earn between 80,000 and 100,000 Syrian pounds (one dollar is equal to 15,200 Syrian pounds).

With increased consumption

As summer approaches, residents’ water consumption increases and the majority are forced to refill their drinking water tanks every three days.

Farid al-Hassan, a resident of al-Manajir village south of Ras al-Ain, said the price of a five-barrel water tank used to cost no more than 50,000 Syrian pounds, but has recently increased significantly, placing an additional financial burden on him.

He explained that his family uses more water in the summer, which is why he has to pay more than £200,000 a week just for drinking water.

He added that he relies on the well next to his house for household needs, but it is not suitable for drinking as traders take advantage of the residents’ water needs by charging them high prices.

He mentioned that the villagers had received promises from the officials in charge to solve this problem, including providing drinking water, either by supplying water from the Alouk station or by drilling deeper wells instead of above-ground ones.

For his part, Aziz al-Azzo, a resident of Tal al-Muhammad village east of Ras al-Ain near areas controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said that villagers face the same problem and have to rely on themselves to fetch water, using motorbikes and private cars.

He told Enab Baladi that he is forced to drive to Ras al-Ain to fill up with water from the spring because tankers cannot reach his village for fear that they could be targeted by the SDF.

In the village of Freiseh, southeast of Ras al-Ain, there is an electric well maintained and operated by the local authority that supplies water to the village. However, the water is not suitable for drinking, so residents are forced to buy water.

The well was drilled before 2011, when the Syrian regime controlled the area. To date, it has not been replaced, nor has a new well been drilled, as the cost of drilling a new well at a depth of 450 meters is very high and the villagers cannot afford it financially.

Promise to meet needs

Although the local government is implementing many projects and installing solar energy systems in the city and villages, water shortages continue. In some villages, new wells need to be drilled and solar energy systems installed to ensure a sustainable water supply.

Municipal council spokesman Ziyad Moussa Maliki said the council, in cooperation with the Syrian Interim Government (SIG) and organizations, had implemented 20 solar energy projects and drilled several wells for water supply.

Maliki said Enab Baladi that the Council has a comprehensive plan to address the water problem and that the water demand of rural areas has decreased significantly compared to 2023 thanks to the implementation of solar energy projects in the region.

He added that the increase in water transportation costs by tanker owners was due to the increase in fuel prices and the decline in their work in recent times as more than 50% of the needs of rural areas had been met.

He stressed that all residents have a right to water and that the municipal council will strive to find effective solutions for all villages, including working with some organizations to drill new drinking water wells.

Sixty percent of rural residents rely on drinking water from the Alouk wells, which consist of 30 wells and a main pipe with a diameter of 1,200 millimeters. The SDF is accused of cutting off the electricity supply to these wells, causing them to dry up and causing a severe water supply crisis in rural areas of Ras al-Ain and al-Hasakah governorate.