HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – A director of a private water desalination station in Hasakah Governorate in northeastern Syria said on Wednesday that an urgent need for potable water prompted him to start the project a week ago.
The station’s primary mission is to desalinate and purify water, which is then stored in tanks and distributed to residents of the village of Abu Fas in the south of Hasakah and surrounding villages.
The Alouk water station, located in the city of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) in the northwest of Hasakah, is the sole source of water for Hasakah and its countryside.
However, Turkish forces and their affiliated armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA), occupied the city of Sere Kaniye in 2019 and took control of the station.
They cut off water and left locals in urgent need amid lack of water resource suitable for drinking.
According to the station’s director, Ali Sultan, the facility has a daily production capacity of 1,100 barrels of potable water. This output serves approximately 52 villages in Area 47, Abdan, and Abu Fas, extending to the borders of Deir ez-Zor Governorate.
Abu Fas and its neighboring 60 villages faced a dire water shortage, relying on tankers that transported water from wells in the al-Hemmah area in northern Hasakah. These tankers charged around 70,000 Syrian pounds (SYP, which equals about $4.50) for five barrels.
Since the new station’s opening, the price has significantly decreased to 20,000 SYP ($1.20) per tank, a 50 percent reduction compared to previous rates due to the closer proximity of the new water source.
Sultan highlighted that the quality of water from the Abu Fas station is visibly superior to that from the al-Hama wells.
He also mentioned that the establishment and equipping of the station cost over $45,000. To further reduce water prices, Sultan has appealed to the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) to provide support terms of fuel and raw materials.
