In the aftermath of the Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) retreat and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) reassertion of control over Khartoum, many of the city’s displaced residents, who had fled the brutal violations committed by both warring factions, returned home with hopes of finding some semblance of respite after enduring two harrowing years of displacement.
Those who rushed back may have succeeded in turning a blind eye to the devastation of infrastructure, the looting and vandalism of homes and property, and the fragile security situation engulfing the wounded capital.
But how does one overlook the complete collapse of the drinking water supply across Khartoum State?
According to information obtained by Atar correspondent, some neighbourhoods in Khartoum have been without piped water for over two years.
Mubarak Ibrahim, a resident of Al-Wadi Al-Akhdar in East Nile locality, recounted that since the outbreak of war in mid-April 2023, residents have been relying on water tankers that fetch water from wells in neighbouring areas.
“The price of two jerrycans of drinking water, roughly 30 litres, got as high as 6,000 Sudanese pounds. And even now, when the price has dropped to 3,000 pounds, we are still suffering,” Mubarak told Atar.
Zahra Adam, who lived in the Al-Azhari neighbourhood in southern Khartoum, returned after a long journey through Wad Madani; before its fall to the RSF, then Singa and Kassala. Upon her return, following the SAF’s recapture of large swathes of Khartoum State, Zahra found herself grappling with a daily water crisis.
“I couldn’t believe that water was entirely unavailable in the neighbourhood.”
— Zahra Adam told Atar
“I couldn’t believe that water was entirely unavailable in the neighbourhood,” she told Atar. “The Khartoum State water network had stopped working, and electricity was also completely cut off.”
In Al-Azhari, the cost of a barrel of water is 5,000 pounds. It is transported from distant areas, and no one can verify its portability. Yet, as Salwa, a neighbour of Zahra’s, told Atar, people are left with no option but to drink it.
Ibrahim Hussein, one of the earliest returnees from Egypt following calls for displaced Sudanese to come back, hurried to his home in the historic Al-Sahafa neighbourhood in southern Khartoum in late April. Trusting that reports of life returning to normal were credible, Ibrahim packed his few belongings and returned. He did not anticipate that reality on the ground would starkly contradict the optimistic accounts shared on social media and by organizers managing the return convoys.
“I gathered my family and told them we would return now that the army has taken control,” Ibrahim recounted to Atar. “We had suffered enough, and with no income to sustain our displacement, the family agreed to return as soon as possible.”
“Drinking water has become a luxury commodity—one requiring both money and effort to obtain.”
— Ibrahim Hussein, returnee from Egypt to Khartoum
Ibrahim and his family assumed that basic services, at least at a minimal level, would be available. What they didn’t expect was that drinking water would become a luxury commodity, one requiring both money and effort to obtain.
According to precise information gathered by Atar, there are 13 main water treatment plants in Khartoum, including Al-Muqran, Burri, Bahri, North Bahri, Al-Manara, Bayt Al-Mal, Al-Salha, Al-Shajara, Jabal Awlia, the Bahri Industrial Zone station, Abu Sied, Al-Qamayir, and Al-Salam 52 in Omdurman’s Dar Al-Salam district.
Speaking to Atar, Engineer Hisham Al-Amir, Director General of the Drinking Water and Sanitation Authority at the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources, revealed that 12 of these stations were destroyed. Only one, Al-Manara station in Karari locality, under SAF control, survived with minor damage and continues to serve Karari and parts of old Omdurman and western Omdurman.
Hisham elaborated that Bahri station, located north of the capital and one of the most crucial, was destroyed by the RSF. It used to produce 320,000 cubic metres of water daily and supplied vast areas of Bahri and Khartoum, including the Al-Sahafa neighbourhood.
“The RSF facilitated widespread looting by allowing the theft of transformers, cables, and equipment,” he said. “They themselves demolished the station buildings, engaging in a systematic campaign to destroy the water infrastructure.”
In addition to the main stations, Hisham noted that around 1,250 wells spread across various Khartoum neighbourhoods were rendered inoperative during RSF control, with water pumps and cables stolen. Since these stations depend on electric power, they cannot run on small diesel generators. Without electricity, the water crisis is bound to persist.
In historically significant Khartoum neighbourhoods, residents now rely on primitive donkey-drawn carts to transport water from far-flung solar-powered wells, of which there are very few. These cart owners endure long hours in queues just to fill their containers.
Before the war, about 67 per cent of Sudan’s population had access to safe drinking water. That figure has now plummeted to between 25 and 30 per cent, depending on the state. In Khartoum State, availability currently hovers around 30 per cent, according to Hisham’s estimates. He sees little hope of closing this gap due to the country’s unstable electricity supply, essential for water production and distribution.
“This is why we have turned to solar energy,” Hisham explained. “But it is only viable for operating wells; main treatment plants can only function on grid electricity. So people may continue to suffer from water scarcity for some time.”
Hisham added that the Ministry is currently prioritizing the rehabilitation of neighbourhood wells and is working to equip them with solar systems to help mitigate the severe electricity deficit.
Speaking to Atar from Port Sudan, Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Daw Al-Bait Abdelrahman, described the sabotage of Khartoum’s water sources as “deliberate criminal acts.” He asserted that RSF elements intentionally destroyed primary water stations, laboratories, and distribution lines to ensure the state would face astronomical costs in restoring the sector.
UNICEF has meanwhile reported that 70 per cent of water infrastructure in 13 out of Sudan’s 18 states has been affected, either partially or entirely, by the destruction of the water grid. In a previous statement, the organisation confirmed that the war had severely compromised the country’s ability to deliver water services.
The destruction did not stop at treatment plants and distribution lines. Federal Water Authority warehouses in Khartoum were also looted.
According to Hisham, more than 800 submersible pumps, thousands of solar power units, pipes, and hundreds of vehicles and transport equipment were stolen from the Kilometre 10 depot in Al-Mujahideen area.
In response to the growing crisis, some residents have started drilling wells in neighbourhoods without proper technical oversight. Hisham warned of the dangers of this trend.
“Although the intention is good, many are digging wells to ease public suffering, the shallow depth of these privately-dug wells poses serious health risks. They often stop at upper soil layers where contamination from sewage or heavy metals is likely. In light of the disease outbreaks currently affecting Khartoum, it is crucial that these wells are properly supervised and follow technical protocol,” Hisham said.
Khartoum State’s Minister of Information, Al-Tayyib Saad Al-Din, told Atar that the government is exerting efforts to restore services and address the fallout from the destruction of public utilities, particularly drinking water stations. He noted that repairs are underway at the North Bahri station, which supplies water to northern Bahri neighbourhoods stretching from Al-Kadaro in the south to Garri in the north.
