A tank truck carrying water in Beirut. (Illustrative photo by Saïd Meallaoui)
BEIRUT — The Beirut and Mount Lebanon Water Establishment announced on Saturday that a failure that affected a main line of its network, which supplies the south of Beirut, as well as the north and south Metn coast, has been repaired.
Here's what we know:
• "The repairs on the main line 1200 that supplies the south of Beirut, and the north and south Metn coast are completed (...) which allows a normal return to the supply" after several days of failure, the establishment said in a statement.
• A few days ago, the institution had explained that due to a "technical error" in a pipe supplying the capital, the water supply had been interrupted. The water shortages brought additional burden to the Lebanese population, which has been living in crisis for almost three years and at a time when the summer temperatures are rising.
• Without sufficient financial capacity to ensure, among other things, the regular operation of generators that are supposed to supply pumping stations during power cuts, the country's four autonomous water boards are struggling to carry out their mission. In a July 2021 report, UNICEF sounded the alarm that 71 percent of the Lebanese population could suffer from a lack of access to water, even though the country is well endowed with water resources. compared to others in the region