Khaberni - Omar Salameh, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, disclosed on Wednesday that 2653 violations have been detected on the King Abdullah Canal since the beginning of the year, contributing to the saving of about half a million cubic meters of water that was illegally withdrawn from the canal.
In statements to "Al Mamlaka" channel, he added that a major security campaign was organized in collaboration with the concerned authorities to detect and fill illegal wells and remove violations on water resources in the Al-Shuna Al-Janubiyya – Sweimeh area, noting the existence of large quantities of water being extracted, exceeding 100,000 cubic meters daily to supply farms and sell tankers in an illegal manner.
He pointed out that by the year 2025, about 68 non-compliant wells had been filled in various regions of the Kingdom, and violations on main water transmission lines reached 11520 incidents, in addition to detecting more than 22 illegal drilling rigs and 2653 violations on the King Abdullah Canal, a primary source of water.
Salameh called for reporting any violations against water resources.
Yesterday, the staff of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation/Water Authority, carried out a large security campaign in cooperation with the relevant authorities, to detect and fill illegal wells and remove violations on water sources in the Al-Shuna Al-Janubiyya - Sweimeh area.
The campaign resulted in the filling of (8) illegal wells drilled on state-owned lands, violated in an illegal manner, drawing five thousand cubic meters per hour to supply non-compliant farms and sell tankers through extended transmission lines supplying stolen quantities.
In detail, the ministry indicated that based on the available information, the campaign was coordinated and the site raided on Tuesday morning, starting with the process of filling the illegal wells and removing all violations supplying farms through extended main lines of large diameters and long distances to a number of large farms in the area.
The technical staff in the Directorate of Central Workshops and the Directorate of Water Basins completed the filling of the illegal wells and removing all the infrastructure, in cooperation with the Energy Authority and the National Electricity Company, covering several distances and locations, where 3.8 km of power lines drawn from the main electrical lines and connected to control panels to operate the wells were removed, as well as water lines extended over long distances, and disconnected illegal water lines, with (4) control panels seized.
The special records of the campaign will be prepared and the documents referred to the competent authorities for the completion of legal procedures, according to the ministry.
The Water Authority confirmed that its campaign and efforts with the Ministry of Interior, Directorate of Public Security, and other entities are ongoing in all regions, and the severest penalties will be imposed on anyone who dares to compromise the water resources, expressing appreciation for the significant support from the Ministry of Interior, the Public Security, all its officers, personnel, and the citizens who report such violations.
