Lebanese village looks to clean energy project as power cuts deepen country’s water crisis
The Middle East and North Africa is one of the most water-scarce regions. Already plagued by a lack of freshwater resources, it also faces climate change, population growth and poor management, which threaten to affect the lives of millions.
The National’s correspondents across the region spoke to the people most affected to understand the extent of the issue and where hope for change may lie.
A thick maple tree stands tall in Baalchmay, a village carved into the hills of the Mount Lebanon region.
Only metres away is a spring. It is said the proximity of the water allowed the maple tree and its thick branches to grow strong and survive conflicts in the area.
“In the past, the story goes that if you got a shovel and were just digging a little bit, water would come from the ground. That’s how rich the area was with water,” said Adham Al Danaf, Mayor of Baalchmay, home to about 4,500 Lebanese citizens and at least 3,000 refugees.
Jamil Al Danaf, a water specialist at the municipality, said the village was often said to be “like the human body”.
“No matter where you take a small pin and poke it, blood comes out – that’s what water is in Baalchmay. Wherever you dig, you’re going to find water,” he said.
But for residents of the area, these anecdotes belie the current water crisis.
In a place supposedly blessed with an abundance of water beneath the soil, why do the people of Baalchmay suffer – like many places in Lebanon – from a severe lack of it?
In the village, the lack of electricity is to blame.
Lebanon’s dilapidated energy infrastructure, heavily damaged in the 1975-1990 civil war, has for decades limped on, unable to supply the amount of electricity needed.
But since the start of the economic crisis in 2019, described by the World Bank as one of the worst in modern history, the problem has become far more acute.
State electricity typically is only available for a few hours a day. Those who can afford to have to turn to expensive diesel-guzzling private generators to obtain more energy.
“It’s linked directly to the electricity issue,” Mr Al Danaf said. “You know the electricity problem in Lebanon – whenever we don’t have electricity, we don’t have water.”
About seven years ago, public water would be pumped into a giant tanker at the top the village before being distributed among residents about twice a week, he said.
Now this only happens once every other month.
Last summer, the UN children’s agency said the health of millions in Lebanon was at risk because of its water crisis.
State providers are unable to supply enough water – “largely as a result of the power crisis” – but also because soaring inflation means it is prohibitively expensive to maintain infrastructure and pay for parts, Unicef said.
In Baalchmay, residents have been forced to adapt.
Typically they buy water from private sources, but that is becoming increasingly difficult as Lebanon’s economic crisis worsens.
“It’s not a well-off municipality. People can barely get by covering their other needs, let alone water,” Mr Al Danaf said.
Resident Jamila Abi Merched has had to find ways to make the limited water she gets stretch further.
“To save water, I have used the water in many ways,” she said. For example, the water she uses to do the laundry is also used to clean the floors of her home.
“I have no trust in any of the quality of the water that is coming. I wash the vegetables and I’m very worried about the water. But you don’t have a choice,” she said.
Her husband said many people cut down on showers – with some only washing once every four or five days.
Born and raised in Baalchmay, he said the water situation had been degenerating steadily since 1995. “Now things are going backwards not forwards,” he said.
In the best-case scenario, they get one hour of government water every 15 days – but that is rare.
To be able to live a “fair life”, he said the family would have to pay up to two million Lebanese pounds ($133) a week to private water suppliers.
Instead, they have installed a rainwater collection system on the roof.
The village, however, may have a solution. A well was built to support Baalchmay several years ago. But with soaring fuel costs and limited electricity, it has never been fully operational.
The mayor had a private generator installed using his own money and donations from the local community, but it has had a limited effect so far because of the costs.
According to Mr Al Al Danaf, the municipality’s entire budget for the month would be needed to pay for diesel to run
You know the electricity problem in Lebanon. Whenever we don’t have electricity, we don’t have water
ADHAM AL DANAF Baalchmay Mayor
the generator to provide water for the area.
But now the village believes it has found an “alternative” solution: solar energy.
Authorities have purchased 230 solar panels using funding from the Japanese embassy and with support from the Environment Academy – a project at the American University of Beirut.
The academy worked on the project with a team from the community and the municipality. By installing the solar panels next to the well, it is hoped the resulting electricity will be sufficient to pump the water to residents.
The concept has been carried out successfully elsewhere, also with the support of the academy.
In Bedghane, a village southeast of Beirut with a population of about 2,000, a wall of solar panels overlooks the valley below.
The village suffered from the same water supply issues that plague much of Lebanon, but today “around 90 per cent of water problems [have been] fixed because of the solar panels”, said Shayekh Shayya, who lives in Bedghane.
Residents say the installation of the solar panels has helped to alleviate some of the problems they face amid the devastating economic crisis.
But, for now, these are localised solutions.
For most of the country, water shortages are only one of a litany of problems people are encountering every day.