Men wait for water tankers in the first row at a water-filling plant in the Tahlia area of Jeddah.

Having just recovered from a gas crisis, Jeddah residents have now been hit by a shortage of water caused by maintenance problems at the Shuaiba power and desalination plant.

Many districts in Jeddah have seen a decline of potable water pumped to households over the past two weeks, which has resulted in operators charging exorbitant prices for a tanker from Tahlia’s water network.

The districts of Briman, Faisaliyah, Azizia, Mushrifa and Safa have been the hardest hit.

According to a source at the National Water Company, there has been a 40 percent drop in supply.

Angry residents have slammed the water company for the shortage. People have been waiting for up to 72 hours in some cases at the city’s water station for a tanker. They have also complained of local distributors raising prices and the emergence of a thriving black market.

“Now you have to pay double if you want water,” said Abul Qasim, a guard at a water supply center in Al-Mushrifa. “We have 19-ton water tankers in stock at the moment. We are charging SR150 while the normal price is SR114 each.”

He said: “On the black market, you will not find anything for less than SR250. People need water and they will pay whatever price they have to. This has translated into a booming black market.”

Another water facility guard, Suleiman Baksh, reportedly said that the water shortage has been going on for so long that distribution stations are not supplying the precious liquid unless expatriates arrive with letters from their sponsors. Only one tanker is sold per customer, which lasts for up to three days.

Abdulaziz Shafi, a Saudi resident in Al-Mushrifa, said that the water shortage is a major problem. “Water is needed for cleaning purposes and to ensure good hygiene, to avoid diseases.”

He said the situation is particularly critical since the government recently issued a health alert about the likelihood of more people being infected by the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus because of the change in weather. “We are also not able to perform our ablution for prayer in a proper way and clean ourselves thoroughly,” said Shafi.

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