After 7 years of interruption.. Allouk water station will return to service soon

Special

The measures implemented by the Ministry of Energy staff at the Alluk water station in the countryside of Ras al-Ain region, northwest of Al-Hasakah, created an atmosphere of optimism about the imminent return of "water to its streams", after the plant stopped pumping drinking water to the residents benefiting from it intermittently for seven years.

The underlying problem

The atmosphere of optimism among the population of more than one million people seems justified this time, based on the fact that the state has extended its control over the entire area where the plant is located and its components, especially the electricity and water transmission lines.

According to the director of the electricity company in Hasakah, Eng. Saleh Idris, the main problem that caused the Alluk water station to stop pumping in the previous stages was related to electrical power and not to any other factor.

The station was fed with the necessary energy to operate the horizontal and vertical pumps from the Derbasiyah substation, which was supplying the station with a quantity that exceeded its actual need, according to the director of Al-Hasakah Electricity, sufficient to operate all the technical, mechanical and electrical pumps and equipment of the station, but the encroachments on the power transmission line from the Derbasiyah station to the Alluk station, whether for domestic uses or to operate artesian well pumps to irrigate agricultural fields, were putting a great pressure on the substation, which led to the interruption of the supply About Alluk station.

Eng. Idris pointed to another challenge represented by encroachments on the water traction line extending from the Alluk station to the Hamma collection station near the city of Al-Hasakah with a length of about 70 km, where water was withdrawn from it to irrigate nearby agricultural fields.

Mobile Power Station

Eng. Idris continues: The Ministry of Energy has taken these matters into account, and has installed a mobile power station in the countryside of Al-Derbasiyah to feed the Alluk water station with electrical energy on the one hand, and to feed the service and domestic loads in the Al-Derbasiyah area on the other hand , explaining that technicians are currently connecting this mobile station to ensure the effective operation of the mechanical motors and vertical wells in the Alluk station, after the Ministry recently took over the station.

Idris indicated that this step is taking place in parallel with the maintenance and equipment works at the Derbasiyah power plant, which the General Corporation for Electricity Transmission and Distribution is working on in cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross, in preparation for its return to service as soon as possible.

Idris confirmed that work is currently underway to prepare the connection between the mobile station in Derbasiyah and the Alluk water station in the countryside of Ras al-Ain, with the aim of operating vertical (submersible) wells and pumps and rehabilitating the damaged tension lines, pointing out that maintenance and connection works are ongoing to enable the plant to enter active service and ensure the stability of the supply to the mechanical stations.

These efforts, announced by the Ministry of Energy a few days ago, come within the framework of rehabilitating the plant to feed the residents of the city of al-Hasakah and its suburbs, the town of Tal Tamr and its villages with clean drinking water suitable for human consumption, he said.

Maintenance of Station Equipment and Supplies

For their part, the Ministry of Energy and the Public Corporation for Drinking Water and Wastewater in Al-Hasakah continue the maintenance, inspection and technical evaluation of the equipment of the Alluk Water Plant.

The director  of the Water Corporation, Eng. Mohammed Othman, told Syria News that the rehabilitation work of the plant is still ongoing, as the technical teams are carrying out comprehensive cleaning operations and inspecting mechanical and electrical equipment, in addition to lubricating pumps and adjusting basic equipment to ensure the readiness of the plant for reoperation.

He pointed out that these works are being carried out in parallel with other works as part of an intensive plan to return the plant to service as soon as possible, in order to ensure that water reaches the people in the city of Al-Hasakah and its suburbs, the town of Tal Tamr and its villages in a stable and safe manner.

Othman pointed out that the electricity workshops continue to complete the connection of the mobile station in Derbasiyah to provide the necessary electrical supply to start the operation of the plant, thanking the workers in the water and electricity sectors for their efforts and commitment in the field.

International organizations enter the line

Othman added that the Public Corporation for Drinking Water and Sanitation held a series of coordination meetings with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), with the aim of accelerating the reactivation of the plant and the resumption of pumping water to the targeted population.

He explained that the meetings discussed the technical and logistical mechanisms necessary for the reoperation, and the coordination of roles between the concerned authorities and international organizations to overcome the challenges and accelerate the field work, stressing the readiness of the Corporation to provide all the required facilities.

He pointed out that international organizations have renewed their commitment to technical and humanitarian support and work with local authorities to ensure the sustainability of solutions and achieve an effective response to the water crisis.

Othman stressed that the restart of the Alluk water station is a priority for the Syrian government due to its vital role in providing drinking water to about one million people, and this has a direct impact on improving the service and health situation and enhancing the living stability in Hasakah.

34 wells at a depth of 250 meters

 The  Alluk water station was established in 2003 in the first water area of Al-Amal in the village of Alluk in Ras al-Ain, and includes 34 artesian wells with a depth of 250 meters up to the second water carrier, in addition to engines, pumps, mechanical and electrical equipment to draw water and pump it through a 70 km long traction line to the collection basins at the Al-Hama station near the eastern dam of Al-Hasakah before distributing it to the city of Al-Hasakah and its suburbs, the town of Tal Tamr and 55 villages within a specific rationing program.

 The area that houses the plant is characterized by an abundant and renewable aquifer,  noting that Alluk water is of high quality and low hardness and does not need chemical additives or filtration processes, and is comparable in quality to the water of Baqin and Drikish.

The End of Suffering

Finally, it can be said that the suffering of the residents of Al-Hasakah, Tal Tamr and their villages from the interruption of drinking water, reliance on tankers unfit for human consumption, and the intestinal diseases they cause, is coming to an end with the restart of the Alluk water station, the main and only source of drinking water for about one million people.

Khalil Aqtini