The General Administration for Water in Makkah has approved its operation plan for Ramadan so as to provide water to over 1.5 million pilgrims during the holy month. The plan aims to pump sufficient water into the city's reservoirs to meet the high demand during the month. The plan also seeks to boost the sanitary drainage services. According to the plan, over two million cubic meters of water would be stored in strategic tanks in case of emergency situations. The total quantity of water that would be pumped to Makkah daily during Ramadan will be about 440,000 cubic meters from Al-Shu'aibah Desalination Plant Nos. 1, 2 and 3. Of this quantity, 10,000 cubic meters of water will come from the wells project in Malakan Valley. Most of this water is allocated for toilets and other sanitary services at the Grand Mosque. Throughout the holy month entry of water tanks is banned in the Central Area. That means enough water must be pumped daily for the thousands of toilets. As such uninterrupted supply of about 10,000 cu. m. per day has been ensured. With the construction of 168 new toilets and 320 water taps for ablution in the former Al-Bab Neighborhood (Harat Al-Bab), the demand for water has increased tremendously and therefore drilling additional wells have been drilled in Malakan Valley. Abdullah Bin Ahmad Hasnain, Director General of Water in Makkah, said the plan reorganizes the field teams working in the operation and maintenance works to respond quickly to any report of a problem in water supplies. The city, he said, has been divided into eight areas covered by 39 teams comprising 200 personnel including engineers, technicians and workers. Of these teams, eight are working round-the-clock in the Central Area alone. Makkah has three water distribution points. The first at Al-Azizia sells water to individuals through 30-ton and 18-ton tanker trucks. The operation capacity for this distribution point is 6,000 cubic meters daily. The second point at Al-Mu'assim operated during Ramadan to meet any emergencies through its use by drivers of water tanker trucks with a capacity of 11 tons and 4 tons besides privately owned tanker trucks. This point works with a capacity of 20,000 cubic meters daily. The third is the Arafat water distribution point, which is allocated for tanker trucks owned by government administrations only. This distribution point pumps about 3,000 cubic meters of water daily. – SPAThe second and third ring road areas, Al-Ja'ranah and Al-Sharayea, will be operated on a rotational basis he said. Also, the sanitary drainage services have been boosted and organized in the main and subsidiary lines. The maintenance teams receive reports on overflows or breakages round-the-clock. The quantity of incoming waste water to the treatment plants is estimated at 374,000 cubic meters daily while the capacity of the treatment plants in Makkah exceeds 375 cubic meters daily. __
