20110903
Reuters
TRIPOLI (Reuters) - The shortage of water in Tripoli and surrounding areas remains a serious problem but it is not critical, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Libya said, adding the body was putting in place stop-gap solutions.

More than a week after rebels drove Muammar Gaddafi from his Tripoli headquarters, residents have begun to savour a return of normal life but water supplies and power remain erratic.

A crisis report from the European Union's humanitarian office said on Thursday Tripoli has enough fuel for the short term and food supplies are starting to get through, but there was no end in sight to a water shortage there.

"The most immediate problem is the water problem. The situation at the moment with the provision of water remains serious but I want to clarify it is not critical," the U.N.'s Panos Moumtzis told a news conference in Tripoli on Friday.

Earlier this week aid agency sources said pro-Gaddafi forces in Sirte had cut off the water supply to Tripoli, which has been struggling to find enough water after a reservoir dried up and its main supply from the south was dwindling.

Moumtzis said the United Nations had put in place a series of stop-gap solutions. He said 11 million litres of bottled water had been imported, a ship arrived in Tripoli on Thursday carrying 500,000 tonnes of water, and another ship carrying 3 million tonnes of water was on its way from Greece.

He said a network had been established to distribute water to poor neighbourhoods, via mosques, and that people had been re-activating bore holes which had not been in use since Gaddafi built the Great Man-Made River, a system of channels which bring water to Tripoli from aquifers in the desert.

Moumtzis also said that two of the country's largest bottling plants had started operating again after closing down during the conflict. He said Tripoli and the surrounding area -- with a total population of about 4 million people -- was without running water because of a technical problem with the wells which supply the Great Man-Made River.

"There is a technical problem in the south which has resulted in the shutting down of 580 wells ... There have been reports about possible insecurity in the areas where the water comes from," he said.

He said engineers had travelled to the area to start fixing the problem. "Thirty of the wells have started functioning again," he said. But finding a lasting solution was urgent.