By Ashraf Abdul-Wahab.
Tripoli, 1 February 2014:
The supply of water to Sirte and Ajdabiya and towns and villages all the way to . . .[restrict]Benghazi has stopped because of the clashes in and around Sarir, according to the head of Water and Sanitation Company’s Central Region.
Calling on people in Sirte today to using water sparingly, Hamad Faraj said that the existing supply in storage tanks was not going to meet its needs.
Separately, the director of technical affairs at the Man-Made River Company, Abdussalam Belasher confirmed to the Libya Herald that there was almost no more water in Ajdabiya’s main reservoir.
Faraj said that reserve tanks in Ajdabiya and Sirte would now have to be used. He added that the company would also have to use well water. It is thought doubtful, however, whether there will be enough, even for the short-term. The water table has dropped across much of the areas, resulting in increased salinity in wells.
Parts of Benghazi too have been suffering from water shortages as a result of the electricity supply being cut to the Man-Made River company. As a result it has not been able to pump water into the reservoirs.
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