Residents in several areas of Mount Lebanon and Beirut appear set to experience water rationing after the water utility serving them said it ran out of diesel to sustain its operations. (Credit: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)
BEIRUT — Residents in several areas of Mount Lebanon and Beirut appear set to experience water rationing after the water utility serving them said it ran out of diesel to sustain its operations.
Here’s what we know:
• In a statement, the Beirut and Mount Lebanon Water Establishment announced that its diesel reserves are exhausted because the utility has allegedly not received fuel since last week. According to the statement, the establishment needs diesel to be delivered almost every day to sustain its work.
• Rationing will affect customers in the Chouf, Aley, Jbeil, Kesrouan and Metn, it said, as well as some areas in Beirut.
• The utility added that it is working to restore services and implored the authorities to “give this crucial matter a bit of attention.”
• This is the second time residents from these areas are facing this issue, after the establishment made a similar announcement last month. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had reiterated a warning in mid-August that 4 million people were at imminent risk of losing water supply access due to the power outages of recent months stemming from fuel shortages.