Agency. Damascus is facing a serious water crisis as the flow from the Ain al-Fijeh spring, the Syrian capital’s main water source, in the countryside west of the capital, has fallen to its lowest level since 1958.
The head of the Ain al-Fijeh spring station, Khaled Hassan, said the water level had dropped sharply due to an unusually dry season. The area has received just 25 percent of its average annual rainfall, according to figures from the Damascus and Rural Waterworks Authority. That’s the lowest it’s been in nearly seven decades.
The station’s mechanical technician, Saib Soufan, said the spring’s current flow is just two cubic meters per second, a fraction of the city’s estimated eight cubic meters per second requirement. Last year at this time, the waterfall was flowing at 10 cubic meters per second.
To address the shortage, the government has activated backup wells and is implementing strict water rationing. Typically, the water level gradually decreases by 200 to 250 liters per day, with the pumping phase starting in July.
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