Screenshot of photos of the Chabrouh dam taken one year apart, from a video circulating on social media. It shows the striking difference in water levels between 2024 and 2025. (Rights reserved)
The video made the rounds on social networks a few days ago: In these images, we see the water level of the Chabrouh dam in Faraya, on the heights of Kesrouan, on May 18, 2024, and a significantly lower level a year later, taken from the same angle.
Winter 2024-2025 was particularly water-poor: In Beirut, this season saw 382.1 millimeters of rainfall compared to 1051.3 last year, and 822 as the 30-year average, according to figures from Lebanon's meteorological service. Snow was also scarce, and this naturally impacted the water resources available for distribution this summer.
Jean Gebran, director of the Beirut and Mount Lebanon Water Office, confirmed to L'Orient-Le Jour the authenticity of the Chabrouh dam images. "This dam stored only 30 percent of its capacity this year, meaning less than two million cubic meters of water instead of the usual seven million," he said.
For Kesrouan and part of Metn, the prospects for this summer look bleak. "We are trying to compensate for the shortfall by exploiting the region's wells, but they can at best meet more than 40 percent of the needs," Gebran added.
The situation is not much better in other regions: Whether it is natural or artificial water sources, storage does not exceed 30 percent of usual capacities. Like Chabrouh, the Qaysamani dam (in the Baabda district) shows a very low water level, according to Jean Gebran. He indicated that this is also the case for generally abundant sources like Afqa, on the heights of Jbeil, or in the Chouf and Aley regions. "Even the water from wells we manage is lower than usual, but we have to resort to them despite the additional costs of their operation," he explained.
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Rarer, poorer quality, more expensive water
The high official expressed concern about the growing trend of drought and the disruption of precipitation patterns. "In Lebanon and elsewhere, it is gradually observed that 80 percent of annual rainfall falls all at once, rather than being spread out over time as in the past, which hinders water infiltration into the ground and the replenishment of aquifers and springs," he said. As for existing dams, they should be filled by snowmelt. Yet a less abundant snowpack and rapid melting due to sharply rising temperatures compromise this replenishment.
The consequence is predictable: severe rationing. "We are forced to provide water to households only about three times a week now, and probably twice as the summer progresses," Gebran specified. Even by doing so, he fears that the resources will barely meet the demand by next September. "We are trying to distribute the water in a way that resources can last until the next rainy season," generally in September, he emphasized.
More than usual, the population will resort to buying water tanks, the manager predicted. Where does this water come from if the state does not have access to it? "It mainly comes from private – and sometimes illegal – wells, where the water level is just as low this year as in other sources," he responded. "Unfortunately, this means that this water will be rarer, of poorer quality and will be traded at a high price due to the general shortage. Our wells are regularly sterilized and treated, but the others are not monitored," Gebran added.
This article was translated from L'Orient-Le Jour.
