1. INTRODUCTION
Lebanon enjoys a favourable water endowment, however throughout the country water re-sources are limited in terms of both quantity and quality, as a result of mismanagement, ageing infrastructure, inadequate investment within a confessional power-sharing system, coupled with depleting water resources and climate change. The influx of some 1.5 million Syrian refugees since 2011, and the resulting increased demand on water provision by an estimated 8 to 12 percent, has further strained the nation’s water resources. The additional demand has meant that existing and alternative water sources are being overly exploited to make up for the short-fall. Communities have thus become more dependent on alternative sources such as water de-livery by truck, which in turn has created an unregulated parallel water supply market, further weakening the formal water providers. This has moreover resulted in consumers paying rates of up to 200 to 300 percent higher than public water fees.
Syrian refugees living in informal tented settlements (ITS) are in an especially difficult position,3 being at the back of the proverbial queue for public water and other unregulated water sources. To alleviate the problem of water sourcing for refugees, humanitarian aid agencies have been delivering water by trucks. While this has ensured Syrians have adequate and, importantly, non-contaminated water, it has come at a financial and environmental cost. Water sources are po-tentially being depleted in an unregulated and unsustainable manner, and aid agencies are spending considerable sums to provide a service that is not sustainable in the short or long run.
As such, a reformulation of water service provision is required to achieve a win-win outcome for all concerned parties, namely: the Lebanese that are already experiencing water shortages and having to pay a high cost for water deliveries; the formal water service providers, the Regional Water Establishments (RWEs) that are weakened by their administrative and financial deficits; the Syrian refugees who are dependent on local provision in whatever form it comes and often pay out of pocket for water deliveries; and the aid agencies that are battling against the odds to source needed funds to assist vulnerable communities.
Under the current arrangement all parties are unnecessarily sourcing water at a high cost and inadvertently empowering a parallel water market to the detriment of the RWEs. Therefore, in order to provide a safe and adequate water supply to all water users within the country improv-ing the estimated 50 percent of the water network that is in need of constant repair and maintenance, and lowering the rate of unaccounted for public water (estimated at around 48 percent)4 is an essential starting point. However, this is easier proposed than done within a complex political-economic environment in which sectarian, regional and local particularities need to be taken into consideration. The country’s legal framework is equally complex.
Therefore, this study builds an evidence base on the socio-economic and political causes and impacts of current water supply to both Lebanese citizens and ITS Syrian refugees, taking nine villages in North Bekaa as a case study area. The research is employed to unpack the obstacles to providing more sustainable solutions, namely extending piped public water to ITSs, focusing on the financial, social and legal feasibility requirements. In light of the study findings, a multi-level governance approach is recommended to address water supply to all concerned communities. With this, a Win-Win can be achieved. Humanitarian agencies would fulfil their commitment to providing proportional assistance to vulnerable Lebanese communities along with Syrian refugees, while supporting Lebanese governmental institutions, namely municipalities and RWEs, both of which are the integral to the country’s refugee response plan, the joint United NationsGovernment of Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP).