DUBAI // Water was restored to Jumeirah Village yesterday after being cut off for more than 20 hours.
Residents said the supply problem began on Monday evening but water was restored yesterday afternoon only after repeated complaints to the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) and the developer, Nakheel.
After complaints to Dewa late on Monday, residents were first told that a pipe was broken and that the supply would be restored in an hour.
They were later informed by technicians that the main water supply line into the community had been turned off.
Residents believe the disruption was caused by the developer not paying dues to the water authority. They said they were told about the outstanding amount when they called both Dewa and Nakheel.
Neither the water company nor the developer responded to questions about the incident, but operators at Nakheel's call centre confirmed that the water was turned off due to outstanding bills.
"Yes, there is no water. Dewa disconnected due to outstandings," an official said. "It is already raised with Nakheel top management. We will be receiving updates from the management."
Storage tanks ran low on water before the supply finally resumed to the community, which comprises thousands of villas off Emirates Road.
Residents now fear the water could be cut off again.
"We have families, we will suffer," said Ahmed Murad, an Emirati who has lived in the community for more than a year. "What is between Nakheel and Dewa has nothing to do with us. We are human beings, we are living here, and as owners we are paying our bills to Dewa regularly.
"They disconnected the mains and we don't know if this will happen again in the future.
"It's unfair for this to affect us, for us to complain and then keep following up.
"All people were affected without water from yesterday to today."
Some residents said they only discovered the water supply had stopped on Monday evening when their garden sprinklers - directly connected to the Dewa line - failed to turn on.
Other residents found out yesterday when their water storage tanks were close to empty.
"I don't understand," said one resident, MK, who has lived in Jumeirah Village for a year and did not want to be named. "We always pay our bill so why cut our water? It's not our fault."
* Nakheel has contacted The National since publication. A spokesperson for the developer denied there was a dispute with Dewa and said it did not comment on operational matters relating to its business.