Emergency Support for Improving Access to Water Supply for Vulnerable Localities – Bekaa Area Al Sahel Locality | Qabelias Municipality

The GIZ-implemented "Enhancing Water Resource Management Plus" (WAMA+) project, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), aims to strengthen and improve water and wastewater service delivery in Lebanon through institutional and technical support to Lebanon's regional Water Establishments.

GIZ WAMA+ is contributing to the efforts to achieve good governance in the Lebanese water sector. In a close partnership with our political partner the Ministry of Energy and Water (MoEW) and the four regional water establishments, WAMA+ works vigorously towards ensuring the provision of safe, reliable and affordable water and wastewater services to the Lebanese population. Hence, WAMA+ will have 5 Outputs:

• Output 1: Enhancing the ability of the Water Establishments to respond to crises by improving access to basic water services to vulnerable communities - small-scale infrastructure packages (Bekaa water establishment (BWE) and Beirut and Mount Lebanon water establishment (BMLWE)).
• Output 2: Improving the management of the non-revenue water (NRW): implementing scalable Jbeil pilot intervention with BMLWE and supporting MoEW with drafting national guidelines for non-revenue water.
• Output 3: Supporting the four regional water establishments in assuming responsibility for wastewater collection and treatment.

Two outputs - EU Cofinancing:

• Output 4: Water Establishments have the capacity to monitor water production volumes: flow volumes of 400 bulk sources are measured and transmitted to central information systems to monitor water production at the level of MoEW and the WEs.
• Output 5: Water Establishments are capacitated to manage their user records; 800,000 subscribers records will be updated and digitalized as the four Water Establishments will be supported in using digitalized systems for user records management.

Under Output 1, WAMA+ focuses on improving the capacity of Water Establishments to respond to crises and emergencies, particularly in fragile and high-pressure contexts.

In the Bekaa region, Al Sahel locality in Qab Elias (Qab Elias – Wadi El Delm Municipality) is one of the most densely populated areas in Qabelias, strategically located near the central fruit and vegetable market and characterized by a mix of residential neighborhoods, commercial activities, and informal settlements. Qabelias hosts a total population of approximately 65,000 people, including around 30,000 refugees and 3,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), resulting in increasing pressure on basic services, particularly water supply infrastructure. The situation is further exacerbated by the saturation of six collective shelters due to the continuous influx of displaced families, placing additional strain on already limited resources.

As a result, the area is currently facing critical stress on water supply services due to rapid population growth, aging and inefficient water distribution infrastructure, high levels of water losses and service interruptions, and limited capacity to regulate and monitor water distribution.

As identified during field assessments, a new water distribution network has been installed, but remains partially ineffective due to the absence of water calibers (flow regulators), which are essential for controlled and equitable water distribution.

Note: A Water flow regulator is a calibrated device used by BWE to regulate and control the quantity of water delivered to subscribers. Without this calibrated restrictor, water would flow at the full capacity of the 0.5-inch pipe, resulting in uncontrolled distribution and increased water losses.

Despite infrastructure improvements, the system suffers from:

• Unregulated water flow at household level
• Inequitable water distribution among users
• High physical and commercial losses
• Inability of BWE to monitor consumption and manage supply efficiently

This situation is further aggravated by increased demand due to IDPs and vulnerable populations, creating an urgent need for intervention.