The severe water scarcity in the Yarmouk Basin in Syria's Dera province is forcing residents to buy expensive tanker water to meet their basic needs. According to Al Jazeera, this situation imposes an additional financial burden on the population.
In the town of Müerriye, the situation is extremely critical. According to information compiled by a Syria Now correspondent from local residents, the town depends on a single well that does not even meet the minimum need. One resident stated that the water distribution system provides each citizen with water for only half an hour every 15 days. The resident said the well's pumping capacity has dropped to "one and a half inches," adding that this amount can only be used for drinking water and does not meet household needs.
Taps have been dry for two years
In the town of Abidin, the situation is even more dire. A resident told Syria Now that the town has received no water at all for two years. Residents are meeting their water needs entirely through tankers. The price of one water tanker has reached approximately 150,000 Syrian pounds, a cost that is difficult for low-income workers and those on limited salaries to afford.
The reason behind the crisis: Illegal wells
The main cause of the water crisis in the Yarmouk Basin is the loss of productivity at the Ayn Zikr Station, the region's main source of drinking water. According to a Syria Now correspondent, water levels at the station have dropped to critical levels. The primary reason is the tens of thousands of unlicensed wells drilled illegally around the source that feeds the station. Unregulated and excessive groundwater extraction is depleting the station's capacity, depriving villages of their water rights.
Dera Water Resources Director Hani Abdullah told the Syrian official news agency SANA that there are between 10,000 and 15,000 illegal wells across the province, most of which are not in use. Abdullah said the current plan focuses on preventing illegal drilling, increasing penalties, and compelling licensed well owners to adhere to the agricultural plan and modern irrigation methods.
Residents try to find their own solutions
The ongoing crisis has prompted residents in some villages to dig water wells using their own resources. One resident recounted that an emergency well was dug with money collected in the village and equipped with a borrowed solar energy system. However, despite these efforts, water levels in the wells are steadily declining; the flow rate of one well dropped from 2 inches to 1.5 inches from late winter into summer.
