The streets of Beirut are filled with water tankers that residents purchase to cope with an unprecedented water shortage, primarily due to record-low rainfall, dried wells, and deteriorating supply networks.
Reema Sabaa, a 50-year-old resident of Bourj al-Barajneh in southern Beirut, mentions, “Water used to come every other day, but now it only comes every three days.”
When the official supply runs out, Sabaa’s family turns to private tankers that fill the building’s water storage.
She explains that she pays five dollars to fill the tank with salty water that rusts her kitchenware. For drinking water, she buys pre-packaged bottles, like many others in Lebanon.
However, the burden of these costs is heavy on her low-income family, as Sabaa works in elder care.
She questions, “Where am I supposed to find the money?”, in a country still grappling with a severe economic crisis that has impoverished many, compounded by the effects of the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
Lebanese citizens have been accustomed to water shortages for many years. According to the Ministry of Energy’s national water sector strategy, “more than 50% of the population does not receive public water services regularly.”
The ministry further indicates that surface storage, such as dams, is inadequate to bridge the gap, and half of the government’s supply is considered “wasted” due to leaks in the national supply networks or theft.
The crisis has been worsened by a decrease in rainfall. Mohamed King, head of surface estimation at the meteorological service, notes that the rainfall for the 2024-2025 winter season “has been very low,” marking the “lowest in 80 years of recorded precipitation.”
Climate change exacerbates water scarcity, according to the national water sector strategy, while the World Bank predicted earlier this year that “climate change could reduce water availability during drought seasons by half by 2040.”
The water shortage varies from one area to another in Greater Beirut, where streets are crowded with tankers supplying water to the numerous rooftop storage tanks.
Last month, the government launched a campaign to promote water conservation, showcasing images of dried springs and lakes across the country.
In the Debbiyeh water pumping and treatment station north of the capital, water stagnates at the bottom of the pumping basins.
Zahir Qazzi, head of the Northern Beirut Stations, states, “I have been here for 33 years, and this is the worst year we have faced in terms of the water quantities being delivered for pumping to Beirut.”
Antoine Zoghbi, a technical expert at the Beirut and Mount Lebanon Water Authority, explains that water rationing in the capital traditionally begins in October and November, following summer and before the onset of winter.
However, this year, according to Zoghbi, the pumping started “earlier because we have lost fifty percent of the water quantity” in some springs due to reduced rainfall. He noted that rationing began in June for some wells to mitigate the risk of overconsumption and saltwater intrusion. He emphasized the need for more storage facilities, including dams.
In January, the World Bank approved a loan exceeding 250 million dollars to improve water services in Greater Beirut and surrounding areas.
In 2020, the World Bank canceled a loan intended for the construction of a dam south of the capital after environmental activists protested that it could destroy a valley rich in biodiversity.