When the SR8 billion water desalination plant No. 3 in Al-Shoaiba was about to be completed, we read statements by officials in the water sector that there would be no shortages from then on. They said the new plant, in addition to the two existing installations, would cover the needs of the entire Makkah Province.
The officials said water would be abundant in Makkah, Jeddah, Taif and other regions of the province. They said residents would have enough quantities of water at least for the next two decades.
The officials also said the water network system would be completed and that water would be supplied to the people right at their homes. They added that the water networks would also be extended to the new residential plots and to areas that did not have the system before.
According to officials, there would be no more water tankers when the water pipes were extended to the homes.
These were rosy promises that made us all optimistic at the time, waiting for the day when there would be no water shortages.
However, the Shoaiba plant was completed and it worked at full capacity but still no improvement in water supplies was seen.
A water company was established under the name National Water Company (NWC) to regularize the distribution of water in coordination with the Ministry of Water.
The officials said with the establishment of the new company and the efforts of the ministry there would be no water cuts or shortages in the future.
The real fact is that none of this has happened. All the rosy promises remained ink on paper or just idle talk with no real meaning.
The water cuts persisted in all regions and districts. The matter did not stop at the temporary cuts in big towns and cities such as Jeddah and Taif but surpassed this to complete water crises.
The water crisis in Jeddah was still on. The price of a 19-ton water tanker has gone up from SR114 to more than SR500. You would be lucky to find a tanker even at this exceptionally high price.
The promises to extend the water network systems to all neighborhoods were never fulfilled. There are areas in Makkah that have been inhabited for more than 25 years but still without water mains. People are still buying tankers to provide their homes and families with water.
Moreover the sewage system also remained incomplete. The absence of this system in scores of neighborhoods has raised the level of the dirty underground water to new heights, endangering people's lives and threatening public health as well as environmental safety.
The buildings will also be affected as a result of the high levels of contaminated underground water.
With the operation of Al-Shoaiba desalination plant and the establishment of the NWC nothing has changed and the water cuts and shortages are still very much there.
All that the NWC has done was to make a new high salary scale for its staff to persuade the employees of the ministry to join.
Actually the salaries of NWC employees were more than triple those at the ministry. As a result of this, a large number of senior officials of the ministry rushed to join the company to get a better pay.
Regardless, people have not noticed any difference in the water supplies after the establishment of Al-Shoaiba plant and the NWC. In fact the situation has worsened and we are now witnessing more cuts and shortages.
The need for the water tankers still exists. The prices of water tankers have skyrocketed.
If this is the case after just a few years following the establishment of Al-Shoaiba plant and the birth of the NWC, what will the situation be in the long run?
I hope that the issue of water will be carefully studied and that a final seal is put on the water shortages and crises.
Water is the basis of life. Without it there will be no human beings, animals or plants. There will also be no economy or development.
