CAIRO: For a rural underprivileged squatter in Egypt, it is more than common to walk in alleys filled with pot holes, ride the three-wheel toktok to and watch deprived children play in narrow lanes between ramshackle homes.
But the resident of the Saft El Laban squatter have to live with more than potholes – their supply of supposedly potable tap water is black and foul smelling.
“Let’s focus on the problem of water as a minimum right for human beings. We do not have water to drink.and if water came one day by mistake, we find nothing but a polluted, infested liquid coming out. It should be potable water, Abdel Allah, a 30-year-old resident in Saft El Laban squatter, told Daily News Egypt.
Saft El Laban households are mostly deprived from clean drinking water, with few luckier residents enjoying a weak irregular water supply.
“The water crisis here started four years ago. We do not know what the main reason, but officials are not taking any action towards the problem. It may be the case because our voices aren’t strong enough to urge anyone to provide us with water, said Abdel Allah.
Shaaban, another resident in the squatter, told Daily News Egypt that he is suffering from kidney failure as a result of drinking polluted tap water.
“The polluted water made me develop kidney failure.the expenses of dialysis are very high, but I have no choice or even requests. I just need a clean drop of water, is it too much? said Shaaban.
According to an official statement issued by the central laboratory on Aug. 29, testing of water samples from Saft El Laban showed that has reasonable amount of Colrine that makes it standard to the healthy criteria.
The results also state that the amount of water impurities only varies from 0.2 to 0.9 NTU, a range that doesn’t pose any danger. As for the amount of total dissolved salts, it only ranges from 186 to 185 mg/l. While the salts of ammonium, nitride, iron and magnesium do not exist in the water sample.
“I am sure that the quality of water in Saft El Laban is one hundred percent good. The holding company, which is responsible to supply the water to the country, assures the quality of water there.It is the problem in the water pipes in Saft El Laban that makes the pollution in the water, said Mohey El Serafy, general manager of the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater told Daily News Egypt.
Ahmed Sayed, a doctor in the laboratories of the holding company for water and wastewater, told Daily News Egypt that the water pipes in Saft El laban are expired and rusty enough and allows wastewater to blend with the pure drinking water supplied by the company.
Assad, a 41-year-old resident in Saft El Laban, told Daily News Egypt that residents requested the extension of a water pipe from Bulaq, but haven’t received any response.
“If they allowed us to take an extension from Bulaq El Dakrour, this may be a reasonable solution, but I do not know why they do not want to do this .We are in the summer, it is hot and the holy month of Ramadan is approaching, said Assad.
Fathya, an old woman and also a resident in the squatter, told Daily News Egypt, “We cannot use this polluted water; and our children have to go borrow water from neighbors in other districts and they [the neighbors] sometimes refuse.
She said, “The women here cannot wash or cook. We all have to save water or buy jerry cans and pay LE 2.5.Are we animals here? Or people in other squatters are better than us? We need water to live.
The Holding Company for Water and Wastewater has announced its plans to reestablish a water network in the area to solve the problem.
According to an official statement issued by the holding company on Aug. 30, a 40 cm-long water pipe has been linked with another 15-cm-long water pipe to strengthen the main water supply to the whole squatter. The company claims this is a temporary solution until it completes the new water network within three months.
El Serafy said the company is exerting the maximum efforts to solve the problem, but residents must be patient until the new network is laid out.
“We are very aware of the problem and the central laboratory has been sending representatives to Saft El Laban to take water samples for testing, said El Serafy.
“The problem is in the water pipes in the district. I am sure that the water that goes there is pure, but when it gets into the water pipes, it blends with wastewater, said Sayed.
The holding company is not the only responsible entity for the water crisis in Saft El Laban; the local council shares a larger part of the burden to purify the water pipes in the squatter or at least come up with a temporary solution.
Makram Zaafan, head of the local council in Saft El Laban, told Daily News Egypt he will be helping residents extend the water pipe from Bulaq to pump water to the residents for two hours everyday.
“This is the solution available now until the new network is established. I promise I will help them do whatever they think will solve the problem, even temporarily, before Ramdan, said Zaafan.
