Rainwater reservoirs tackle Yemen water shortage

ADEN -- Residents of the Ibb province village of Dharah, in al-Shaar district, are facing an acute water shortage and spend long hours each day fetching potable water.

During the winter, local resident Dalila Salih told Al-Mashareq, getting water takes between two to three hours a day, due to the distance of the nearest rainwater reservoir from her village.

"The lack of drinking water in winter is not limited to humans, but extends to sheep and cows," she said, adding that livestock comes second as "some residents dedicate all their efforts to providing drinking water for their families".

In neighbouring villages, Salih noted, rainwater collection reservoirs have solved the problem and provide clean drinking water throughout the year.

"I hope that rainwater reservoirs are set up in my village so that we break free of this worry that weighs down on us from the day we are born to the day we die," she said.

In an October 19 report, the World Bank warned of a lack of potable water in Yemen that could see about 18 million suffering from lack of access to safe drinking water.

The ongoing conflict -- set off by the Iran-backed Houthis' coup of 2014 -- has had a severe impact on the country's water infrastructure.

Additionally, annual rainfall has been uneven, with droughts recorded in some areas that previously had seen abundant rain.

The overall situation has been worsened by climate change, the World Bank said.

Rainwater storage solutions

The World Bank and its partners have begun to implement rainwater storage solutions in three villages: al-Aden (Baadan district in Ibb), al-Anin (Wasab al-Ali district in Dhamar), and Hawf (al-Mahra), the report said.

The project provides both clean water and job opportunities, paying local workers for participating in the construction of water collection reservoirs.

It is part of the emergency crisis response project, which has so far supported the building of 1,279 public rainwater collection reservoirs and 30,686 domestic ones throughout Yemen, according to the report.

Together, these provide nearly 900,000 cubic metres of clean water.

The World Bank has contributed to the rehabilitation of 113 wells that have allowed access to water and sewage solutions for more than 1.1 million people, the report said.

On October 14, Yemeni government and World Bank officials, including World Bank vice president for the Middle East and North Africa Farid Belhaj, met in Washington to discuss the situation.

During the meeting, Yemen's Minister of Planning and International Co-operation Waed Badeeb called on the World Bank Group to dedicate a self-sustained water programme to address the water crisis in the country.

Reservoirs aid development

"Water reservoirs are successful projects that facilitate development and provide potable water in the dry months, thus making water available throughout the year," said Abdullah Mohammed, an expert on sustainable development projects.

Rainwater volume per capita in Yemen is the lowest in the region, he told Al-Mashareq.

Yemen also has experienced floods and torrential rains, which threaten agricultural resources and see potentially useful rainwater flowing into the sea, he added.

International organisations working to meet public water needs are having difficulties, because many people live in high and rugged mountainous areas, Mohammed said.

The difficult terrain makes it hard for water trucks to access some villages, he said, noting that the stone reservoirs that have been built in some areas have proven to be an excellent solution.

Rainwater is collected from the roofs of houses through a pipe that funnels water into the reservoirs, he said, with the water "going through several stages of filtration during its passage through the pipe".

Potable water and jobs

The project to build reservoirs in rural areas "has yielded two benefits for the local community, the first is providing potable water, and the second is creating job opportunities", economist Abdulaziz Thabit told Al-Mashareq.

"Many rural families depend on women and children for fetching water," he said.

"This impacts school enrollment and has negative effects on women, who have to endure the hardship of walking long distances to provide clean drinking water for only one day, having to repeat this task daily," he added.

"The war has affected the water infrastructure, not to mention the population's weakened purchasing power, especially those who live in the countryside," he said, which has made it more difficult for them to access water.

A Greenpeace study released Wednesday (November 2) found that the Middle East is at high risk of water and food scarcity as well as severe heat waves as a result of climate change.