Judy residents call for end to water crisis, Qamishlo Water Directorate pledges emergency measures

Residents of Judy neighborhood in Qamishlo face renewed hardship at the start of every summer due to years of inadequate drinking-water supplies reaching the area. This forces residents to purchase water from tankers owners, with a single tank containing five barrels costing around 50,000 Syrian pounds, adding to their financial burden.

ANHA agency accompanied a delegation of Judy residents during a visit to the Qamishlo Water Directorate, where they met with the directorate’s management to discuss the water crisis and explore possible solutions. The directorate pledged to take emergency measures in the coming period and increase water pumping.

Members of the delegation said the neighborhood is facing not only a water crisis but also problems with its sewage networks, which they said had caused cases of poisoning among several residents in recent period.

Abdel Halim Abo Hoger, one of the delegation members, told ANHA agency that they had visited the Water Directorate to discuss residents’ hardships, adding that they had received assurances that urgent solutions would be found to address the water crisis within a short period.

He expressed hope that these promises would be fulfilled, stressing that the water shortage has been one of the main service-related issues troubling residents of Judy neighborhood for years.

Promises of emergency solutions

For his part, Mahmoud al-Mahmoud, head of the Qamishlo Water Directorate, said during his meeting with residents that inadequate water supplies to the neighborhood are due to frequent power outages, in addition to the fact that Judy water network is connected to the Hilaliyah and Al-Awija lines. This means supplying the neighborhood requires higher pumping volumes due to the length of the network.

Al-Mahmoud confirmed that the directorate would implement emergency solutions, including connecting the neighborhood to other water networks and increasing pumping volumes to improve water supplies to residents.

He also noted that the integration phase linked to the January 29 Agreement had affected the implementation of a number of service projects, including water-sector projects. He expressed hope that the next phase would help accelerate the implementation of solutions and improve public services in the city.

ANHA