Saida Municipality Apologizes for Floods and Blames Water Establishment

The Saida Municipality offered an apology to the residents of neighborhoods and commercial shop owners who were harmed by rainwater entering their homes and shops, and by the floods that disrupted their daily lives and businesses. This occurred despite preparations made by the municipality over the past two months to welcome the winter season, which included cleaning all sewers, measures that should have prevented what happened. The municipality noted that "most city streets did not experience unusual water accumulation, except for the area where the causes of the problem were clarified."

In a statement, it announced that "the accumulation of rainwater witnessed in some neighborhoods of Saida and its surroundings, from Al-Qayaa towards Baqasta, reaching part of the coastal highway near the Alam area, and extending to Shawarma Al-Mahatta, is due, according to follow-up, to two main reasons: First, the failure to remove seasonal structures, consisting of stones and fill bags placed by the South Lebanon Water Establishment to close the marine outlet during summer, aiming to limit the spread of odors and sewage on the seafront due to the interconnection of rainwater and sewage lines at certain points. The establishment intentionally places these obstacles at the beginning of summer and removes them with the start of the rainy season; however, this did not happen at the beginning of the current season. As for the second reason, it relates to the point located near the Alam area, which connects to the main sewage line leading to the pumping station in Sinniq belonging to the South Lebanon Water Establishment, designated primarily for transporting sewage only. However, the station's pumps were not operating by the establishment, causing water to backflow into adjacent and rear points. Although these two reasons are outside the jurisdiction of the Saida Municipality, the municipality does not absolve itself of responsibility, noting that it has communicated with the South Lebanon Water Establishment regarding this matter, especially since the problem recurs at the beginning of every winter season."

It added: "Emergency teams affiliated with the municipality worked to remove these obstacles during the floods the city experienced on Saturday. The presence of teams at the mentioned maintenance openings was not for cleaning purposes, as cleaning work had been completed previously in an excellent manner. At other points along the coastal corniche, emergency teams removed waste that had recently accumulated inside the sewers, resulting from visitors throwing trash into them, in addition to rainwater washing away some waste dumped in the streets, despite repeated warnings from the municipality about the danger of this behavior, particularly during the winter season. Also, fire crews worked to remove sediments left by water accumulation in front of commercial shop facades and homes."

It concluded by affirming that "the municipality will continue, in direct coordination with the South Lebanon Water Establishment, to conduct an urgent field inspection of discharge outlets, starting with the Alam area outlet, with the aim of removing all obstacles before the next wave of rain, in addition to continuous coordination to separate rainwater from sewage in shared lines, protecting the city and preventing a recurrence of what happened."