While North Bahri residents eagerly awaited the reactivation of the Tamanayat water station, previously offline due to minor faults, they were stunned last Monday by an announcement from the Khartoum State Water Authority declaring the station fully offline, as its main intake had run dry.
The authority reported that, effective July 14, 2025, North Bahri’s water output had dropped to zero, blaming an unprecedented fall in Nile levels that crippled the station’s pumping capacity and cut off supply to residents.
With the North Bahri station offline, hopes kindled just days earlier, when water briefly reached several districts, were dashed.
With the North Bahri station offline, hopes kindled just days earlier, when water briefly reached several districts alongside a modest extension of electricity supply from six to eight hours, were dashed.
Over two brutal years of war, Khartoum’s water infrastructure has suffered systematic sabotage: production plants, distribution networks and power systems have been looted or destroyed by thieves and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) occupying vast swathes of the state. Copper cables and fittings were stripped in a wartime “copper trade”, while crossfire between warring factions further damaged facilities.
To counter chronic shortages, federal and state authorities have attempted to repair lines, refurbish main stations and activate neighbourhood wells, but most efforts have fallen short.
Because the damage is so extensive, we aimed for comprehensive rehabilitation… but simultaneous restoration of war-torn systems across our 13 principal plants has only achieved about five to ten per cent progress to date.
Hisham Al-Ameer, Federal Ministry of Irrigation
Hisham Al-Ameer, Director of Drinking Water and Sanitation at the Federal Ministry of Irrigation, adding:
“Because the damage is so extensive, we aimed for comprehensive rehabilitation. But simultaneous restoration of war-torn systems across our 13 principal plants: Al-Mugran, Burri, Bahri, North Bahri (Tamanayat), Al-Manara, Beit Al-Mal, Al-Salha, Al-Shajara, Jebel Aulia, the Bahri Industrial Zone station, Abu See’d, Al-Qamayir, and Al-Salam 52 in Dar Al-Salam, Omdurman, has only achieved about five to ten per cent progress to date.”
According to Hisham, authorities have managed to bring just one pump back online at the Bahri station, once powered by 15 Nile-sourced pumps and capable of producing 300,000 m³ per day. It is now operating at just five per cent of capacity. At the Jebel Aulia station, output has been restored to 25 per cent of its 68,000 m³ daily capacity, roughly 17,000 m³ per day.
Among Khartoum’s water plants, Jebel Aulia ranks second in production after Al-Manara station in Omdurman, a success Hisham attributes to stable grid power there. Jebel Aulia supplies southern Khartoum and supports the Al-Shajara station, which produces under 5,000 m³ daily, covering needs in that neighbourhood and across much of southern Khartoum.
With more than 370 solar- and petrol-powered boreholes now active in Khartoum State, an achievement confirmed by an anonymously sourced official at the Khartoum Water Authority, water shortages have eased in several districts.
“Bringing wells online in As-Sahafa neighbourhood has significantly reduced thirst since the war began two years ago,” said resident Ibrahim Mubarak.
In Bahri city, some neighbourhoods are experiencing intermittent supply.
“Pipes in Halfaya homes run off and on, which has lessened the drinking water crisis,” said Halfaya resident Salem Ubaid. Salem added that the main Bahri station has resumed partial service in recent days.
Residents [of Al-Wadi Al-Akhdar and Haj Yusuf] rely entirely on a charity kitchen… Some 1,500 families depend on its food and water aid, a number rising daily as returnees, still without income, filter back home.
Yet severe shortages persist in Al-Wadi Al-Akhdar and parts of Haj Yusuf in East Nile, where water has been cut off for over two years.
“Residents there rely entirely on a charity kitchen,” coordinator Iqbal Omar told Atar. The kitchen purchases and distributes cistern loads, 110-barrel tanks cost 300,000 SDG; 55-barrel tanks, 150,000 SDG; and individual barrels, 3,000 SDG (around one USD). Some 1,500 families depend on its food and water aid, a number rising daily as returnees, still without income, filter back home.
While Khartoum authorities attempt to revive the heavily damaged Al-Mugran water station, Hisham Al-Ameer told Atar the plant’s destruction was so extensive that they are testing it with a limited number of pumps. During trials, some homes in Al-Mugran and adjacent districts briefly receive water.
Despite these efforts, neighbourhoods from Nile Street through parts of As-Sahafa remain dry. Al-Mugran once produced 90,000m³ daily, serving Central Khartoum, Khartoum 2 and 3, Al-Rumeila, Al-Gaoz, Al-Hilla Al-Jadeeda, Al-Sajana and sectors of As-Sahafa, but it was entirely wrecked.
Soba needs three jerrycans of diesel daily, a cost beyond the Water Authority’s means… so it runs only for a few hours, depending on fuel availability.
The Soba station, which suffered less damage, has supplied water to the Soba and Al-Baqir districts. Yet its reliance on unreliable grid power forces operators to run diesel generators, limited by fuel shortages that have cut output from 100,000m³ to just 10 per cent of capacity.
“Soba needs three jerrycans of diesel daily, a cost beyond the Water Authority’s means,” Al-Ameer said. “So it runs only for a few hours, depending on fuel availability.”
A Khartoum Water Authority source confirmed that other plants: Abu See’d, Al-Salha and Dar Salam, also face power cuts and cannot be kept running on fuel. The authority is seeking solar installations and fuel for small neighbourhood boreholes to ease the thirst crisis, which has slightly abated thanks to these efforts.
Despite UNICEF and Red Cross support with equipment and spare parts, daily operating costs exceed government budgets. Al-Ameer noted that outside assistance rarely pushes official functionality above five per cent. Soba requires three fuel drums daily; Al-Manara station in Omdurman needs 20 gallons per hour. Although NGOs have provided generators, Al-Manara received units producing 3,000 watts, lack of fuel renders them idle.
Al-Ameer added that the Burri station in Khartoum is completely destroyed; areas once served by it now rely on Soba and face severe shortages. Authorities are also trying to activate the Beit Al-Mal station in Omdurman for the old city sectors. Yet, despite lower population density there, current measures remain inadequate.
