The Litani River Authority announced an emergency failure on the main irrigation line serving Sidon and Jezzine, forcing a four-day water cut to farms across the south.
The Litani River Authority reported a sudden rupture on the primary pipeline of the Sidon-Jezzine irrigation project in the Lebaa municipality, along the main road between Sidon and Jezzine. The break caused substantial water loss and created a crater in the roadway, prompting the authority to shut off water supplies starting Monday afternoon, 17 August.
The water cut will last at least four days and affects the northeastern portion of the project from pressure-break point number 8, located between the villages of Kafr Falous and Mrah al-Habas. Technical teams from the Lebaa irrigation office will begin excavation and inspection work on the morning of Tuesday, 18 August, to determine the exact nature and extent of the damage.
The maintenance and inspection division of the Litani River Authority will oversee the repair work. Coordination has been arranged with the Ministry of Public Works and Transport's southern regional office, the president of the Jezzine municipal union, and the Lebaa municipality to manage the maintenance operations and ensure traffic and public safety at the work site.
Irrigation will be interrupted in fourteen communities across the region, including Kafr Falous, Mrah al-Habas, Lebaa, Kirka, Baqasta, Shawaliqa, Ein al-Mir, Wadi Baanqoudine, Kafriya, Kafr Jarra, al-Salihiya, al-Qarya, Majdaloune and Abra. Farmers in these areas have been advised to water their crops in advance and take precautionary measures to manage the supply gap.
The authority urged motorists and residents in the vicinity of the repair site to exercise caution and follow posted instructions to protect their safety and that of workers. Once maintenance is completed and the line returns to service, water supplies will resume immediately.
The water disruption coincides with the peak agricultural season in the south, when irrigation demand is typically highest. The authority has not provided a more specific completion timeline beyond the minimum four-day estimate, leaving uncertainty for farmers about the duration of the interruption.
Subscribers and farmers affected by the outage are responsible for managing their water needs independently during the closure period. The authority's statement emphasized that normal service would resume as soon as technical work is finished, without specifying whether repairs might extend beyond the initial four-day projection.
The rupture in the Sidon-Jezzine line is one of the infrastructure challenges facing Lebanon's agricultural sector, which relies heavily on state irrigation systems. The Litani River Authority manages multiple projects across southern Lebanon to supply water to farms that depend on consistent supply throughout the growing season.
Repair work will proceed under tight coordination among multiple government agencies, reflecting both the critical role of irrigation infrastructure and the complexity of managing repairs across municipal boundaries in the region.
