Mouanse and Nsoub are two rural villages situated within the Jabal Akroum Union of Municipalities in Akkar, North Lebanon. Home to 1,850 Lebanese people and 1,160 refugees, residents rely on agriculture as their primary livelihood. Both villages were significantly struggling with water shortages when the community’s main water pumping source broke down. Amidst the economic crisis, the North Lebanon Water Establishment (NLWE) and municipal authorities were no longer able to repair the pump and provide water. This forced households to purchase trucking water which was becoming unaffordable due to the financial crisis, and fueled tensions between the community and municipal council over lack of basic services, leading to the eventual collapse of the Mouanse municipal council.

In response, the USAID-funded Community Support Program (CSP), in partnership with the NLWE, replaced the damaged well pump and upgraded the water pumping station’s equipment to ensure compliant and safe operations; additionally, in September 2021, CSP rehabilitated the facility’s chlorination system. This intervention is not only ensuring sustainable access to clean water for 2,708 individuals, but saving each household at least $240 yearly on trucking water. Moreover, during the 2022 Cholera outbreak, no cases were reported in both villages, despite being rated at high risk of infection by UNICEF.

In June 2023, the NLWE was able to build on this investment with other donor support. In fact,  Solidarité International provided a photovoltaic solar farm to continuously power the station and ensure its sustainable pumping and chlorination operations.

“This solar upgrade wouldn’t have been possible without USAID’s support in first rehabilitating and upgrading the station. We have now significantly enhanced continuous clean water provision to the residents of Mounseh and Nsoub,” said Gabi Nasr, Head of the Engineering Department in the NLWE.