Libya’s water supply facing shortage due to illegal connections

Western Libya is facing growing concerns over water shortages after officials warned that illegal connections along the Hasawna-Jefara water system are worsening supply deficits and threatening water deliveries to Tripoli and other cities in the region, according to the Libya Gazette on July 13th.

The warning comes as the Great Man-Made River Authority announced plans to launch a new security campaign with the aim of removing illegal connections and protection of the country’s water infrastructure. Libya’s strategic water infrastructure is known as its “lifeline”, and the great Man-Made River Project has served as the principal source of drinking water for several Libyan cities for decades. The grand engineering project transports groundwater from desert aquifers in southern Libya to densely populated areas along the coastal section of the north through hundreds of kilometres of pipelines. The Hasawna-Jefara system was originally designed to transport approximately 2.5 million cubic metres of water daily from the Hasawna wellfields to Tripoli and other coastal cities, however the inspection revealed widespread illegal pipelines that are used to irrigate unregulated farms through flood irrigation methods, which is contributing to major losses in water supplies that were originally designated for Tripoli and other areas across western Libya.

Libya Gazette.