SNOWFALL

A Declining Resource:

Lebanon’s mountains provide vital snowmelt that recharges lakes, streams and aquafers, but with climate change promising decreased precipitation – it fell 70% in 2024/2025 – Beirut’s water system faces critically reduced supplies.

LITANI RIVER

Bathed in Pollution:

The Litani River, Lebanon’s principal waterway, is heavily contaminated by industrial pollution, agricultural runoff, and household waste, creating a serious health hazard for people and the environment.

LAKE QARAOUN

Shrinking Shoreline & Toxic Waters:

The Litani River feeds Lake Qaraoun, Lebanon’s largest reservoir. Lake inflows have dropped 80% this year, shrinking the shoreline. Once a rich ecosystem home to 170 fish species, today only one survives due to pollution.

QARAOUN DAM

Dwindling Reservoir:

The dam stores water for irrigation, energy production, and household use. In 2025, its water volume fell to 45 million cubic meters (m³), less than a third of the dam’s 160 million m³ annual average. Planned irrigation projects like Canal 800 and Canal 900 will increase water demand.

MARKABA HYDRO POWER PLANT

Markaba hydroelectric plant is crucial for Lebanon's power supply, but drought has drastically reduced production. Output fell from 520 kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2024 to just 120 million kWh, a 75% drop.

JOUN RESERVOIR

Joun is a central storage facility for the SGBWSP, a mixing basin that receives water from the Awali River, Ain Zarqa, Jezzine Springs, and Lake Qaraoun.

Wardanieh Water Treatment Plant

Originally slatted to begin operations almost a decade ago, Wardanieh is meant to be a 7-stage advanced treatment facility that removes pollutants before water enters the Greater Beirut distribution network. While technically feasible, the complexity of the process makes running costs high, a challenge that has already caused many treatment plants across the country to fail.

Leaks, Theft, and Losses

As much as 60% of all water entering the Greater Beirut distribution network goes unaccounted for, lost through leaks and thefts, or otherwise remaining unbilled.

At the Tap

The Second Greater Beirut Water Supply Project has an admirable aim – bringing water to a thirsty city – but climate change-induced water scarcity and increasing pollution risk leaving the capital dry and Lebanon in more debt than ever. Instead of massive new infrastructure, a better path forward should focus on governance reform, pollution control, and demand management.
For details, click here for BADIL’s latest investigation.