With temperatures climbing over 95 degrees, some 1500 families in the Beit Hanina suburb of north Jerusalem have been sweating through a heat wave without a regular supply of water. Many families in the suburb have been without water for five or more days. The immediate cause of the shortage was the breakdown of a well pump in Jerusalem. But the situation is aggravated by the strain on water supply throughout the country and by the heat wave itself.
The regular water supply to the neighborhood was about 1500 cubic meters of water per day. But last week the amount was cut by a third with the water distributed rotational among residents. However, the shortage has been so bad that some people have been drinking soft drinks instead of water for almost a week.
The city said the problem would be solved in a day or two when the pump is repaired. But Jerusalem is threatened with a continuing water shortage during the next month. Water consumption has been steadily rising because of Jerusalem’s enormous development during the last few years. A master plan after the Six-Day War projected a consumption of 30 million cubic meters of water by 1980. Jerusalemites have already used 27 million cubic meters of water this year.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
