The Saf el-Hawa pumping station in Bint Jbeil has been rehabilitated by the South Lebanon Water Establishment and UNICEF. (Credit: Mountasser Abdallah.)
SOUTH LEBANON — The South Lebanon Water Authority has completed repairs and upgrades to the Saf al-Hawa pumping station and its water storage near Bint Jbeil, close to the Israeli border.
The station, which was severely damaged during the war, originally supplied two reservoirs — one with a capacity of 2,000 cubic meters and another with 500 cubic meters — that serve the city of Bint Jbeil as well as neighboring villages and localities. The reservoirs are connected to pipelines serving Bint Jbeil and the village of Ain Ebel.
The work, carried out in partnership with UNICEF, began on July 10. Three new pumps were installed, four old ones were repaired and rehabilitated, and the control panel system was modernized to enable their installation.
Due to the significant damage caused to the station by the Israeli attack, which also affected pump operations, the work focused on the rehabilitation of concrete infrastructure, electrical installations, as well as the maintenance of control panels and electromechanical equipment.
A new control room was also built to allow the use of these devices as needed. In addition, mechanical maintenance was carried out, including cables, distribution switches, and all electrical installations, the authority specified.
In a report published over the winter, the World Bank estimated the cost of Lebanon's postwar reconstruction and infrastructure rehabilitation at $11 billion, after an imperfect cease-fire brought the fighting to an end last November.
Reporting by our correspondent Muntasser Abdallah.
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