This research discusses the problem of drinking water shortage and
distribution instability in Salamyeh city due to the current crisis.
Salamyeh city dependents on Orontes River as a source for drinking
water through Hama water supply facility, wh
ich sufferes repeated
sabbotage attacks. As a result, an emergency measure was implemented
by depending on local water sources within the city, which are deep wells
that produce water of sulphuric nature.Three desalination plants were
provided to treat local sulphuric water producing suitable safe water, but
these plants production is way less than the city needs.
The crisis in Syria heavily impacted public infrastructure as well as the provision of
basic services. This strongly affected the population in all Syrian governorates since the
beginning of the crisis seven years ago. The water sector is considere
d one of the most
affected. Hostilities led to damages in the networks and ensuing water cuts. In addition,
main pumping stations, boreholes and sanitation networks ceased to function. This
research aims at identifying the locations and extent of damages in the water networks in
Homs governorate based on the percentage of water and sanitation networks as well as
solid waste management services compared to the pre-conflict situation. The research
depends on utilizing the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) based on descriptive data.
The information used comprises primary data collected in the field using structured
questionnaires filled by the local population as well as secondary data produced by
humanitarian organizations, SARC and governmental institutions. The results show
decreased the coverage of water and sanitation networks in Homs Governorate notably
outside the county centers while it is almost non-existent in the urban areas. The latter
include the southern and eastern counties Al Qariateen, Sadd, Mheen, Al furqulus, Al
Ruqama and Hisia. Furthermore, more than half of the population living in the eastern
urban areas rely on water trucking. The discontinuity of municipal services and
malfunction of solid waste removal trucks resulted in the accumulation of waste in many
areas. Therefore, the state of solid waste management is evaluated to be mostly “bad”,
while the reminder only reaches “medium” category, which means, the municipalities do
not collect the waste, or collect and dump inside the city .This situation strongly increases
the risk of an outbreak of infectious diseases.