Rehabilitating Sahl Al-Khashab water plant
After all temporary efforts proved to be ineffective with regards to restoring the “Sahl al-Khashab” water plant in the western countryside of Al-Raqqa and help it go back to function following the destruction it underwent due to military operation taking place in the region which caused so much damage to the cables and electric poles.
During this period, residents had to resort to water tanks to meet their needs until “Together for Al-Garniyah” organization decided to provide a final and effective solution to the problem, by ensuring that water has returned to the homes of locals after years of interruption, taking advantage of the Father Paolo Grant provided by the CSSC.
Prior to the implementation of the project, the “Together for Al-Garniyeh” organization made sure to coordinate with the Directorate of Electricity and the water foundation’s bureau in the city of Al-Tabqa.
The project was aimed at moving the station’s electric transformer’s location from 300 meters to 15 meters, And the installation of a new electric panel to connect with the main feeding power generator in order to operate the water pumps. The team that was hired for the project was well- equipped and had sufficient experience.
The industrial security and occupational safety rules were also adhered to throughout the process in terms of provision of clothing and equipment. The organization also ensured coordination was established with the concerned authorities in terms of maintaining work on electrical tension lines to avoid work injuries.
After the technical team identified the needs of the project, two towers were installed and a new electric circuit board was put in place.
The transformer was moved from its original location to a location close to the pumping station and the cables were connected to the new towers. Electric power was then generated via the tension circuit and the station pumps which feed the first tower.
This project required the work of a highly-qualified and experienced team as the margin for error in this sort of operation could lead to major risks.
Work was impeccably done throughout the entire phases of the project despite the many difficulties the team had to endure, such as bad weather conditions and rain showers. At the final stage of the installation and connection operations, the team performed a test-run and made sure electric power was delivered as required.
The team were also sure to boot the 3 generators at the same time, which ensured that the project was well-implemented and served its purpose.
The organization handed over the project to the city of Tabqa’s electricity directorate which will oversee its continuity and perform the necessary maintenance work when needed.
The CSO finished up the project by painting awareness billboards and distributing pamphlets to locals.
Locals were able to immediately reap the benefits of the project’s success as the availability of clean drinking water at homes was improved after residents had to endure years of shortages, which helped tremendously improve the quality of their lives as it alleviated the financial burden of having to purchase water from mobile tanks, risking contamination since they were unaware of the source.
During interviews, locals expressed their gratitude to the “Together for Al-Garniyeh” team for implementing the project, praising the responsiveness and swiftness of the workers and their good manners towards beneficiaries. One of the interviewees said” this project is the most important of all, it restored water to locals’ homes. Water is their top need”.
The project was successfully implemented with the efforts of 14 employees. It was spread over the duration of 9 weeks, starting with the signing of the MoU with the civil council and the electricity directorate as well as the Al-Tabqa’s organizations bureau. All of these efforts were aimed at restoring water back to the homes of locals in the western Raqqa countryside.
