The natural site of Qammoua, on the heights of Akkar. (Credit: Kassem Hamade.)
BEIRUT — The North Lebanon Water Office announced in a statement Tuesday the launch of several rationing programs for "the distribution of drinking and irrigation water in different cities and villages in the North," the details of which will be specified later via social media and news outlets.
"This year's rainy season has been marked by a significant decrease in surface and groundwater resources, due to the unprecedented drop in rainfall amounts below their annual averages," the company stated.
The office promised that these programs will establish an equitable distribution of available water reserves, in order to ensure the distribution for as long as possible.
The North Lebanon Water Office also called on residents to consume water responsibly and to avoid waste, specifically asking them to refrain from using it for irrigation of gardens and green spaces, car washing, etc., and to keep it only for essential needs.
Lebanon experienced a particularly mild winter with little rainfall, affecting both agricultural regions, such as Akkar, and water supply in more urban areas. At the end of January, the General Director of the Beirut and Mount Lebanon Water Office, Jean Gebran, announced that the catastrophic rainfall rate this season and the scarcity of snowfall on the country's peaks might force the Lebanese to severely ration water this year.
The mufti of Akkar in North Lebanon had then called for performing the "istisqa prayer to ask for rain during times of drought, after a mild winter with little rainfall."