22 March is World Water Day – a day that draws attention worldwide to the human right to clean water. For us at arche nova, it is more than just a date on the calendar. Water is at the heart of our humanitarian work.
Without clean drinking water, any crisis poses an immediate threat to human life: without sufficient fluid intake, death from dehydration can occur within just a few days. A lack of clean water also leads to the rapid spread of diarrhoeal diseases and other waterborne illnesses. In emergency relief, it is therefore crucial to establish safe access to sufficient clean water as quickly as possible. That is our starting point – in every crisis region where we work. In north-eastern Syria, we are currently facing an enormous supply crisis – which we are addressing with urgent emergency aid.
Emergency aid for people who have lost their homes
Delivering water by tanker is expensive, resource-intensive and not a long-term solution. Nevertheless, we rely on this method when there is no alternative in acute emergencies. This is the case in north-eastern Syria. arche nova uses trucks to deliver 40 litres of water per person per day to people who have lost their homes or been forced to leave them: enough for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene. In emergency aid, 7.5 to 15 litres is considered the absolute minimum – we deliberately exceed this so that people can live in dignity.
Our emergency aid project area in north-eastern Syria covers camps, informal shelters and drop-in centres in the al-Hasaka governorate. The water supply is supplemented by the distribution of hygiene kits, hygiene training and the operation of sanitation facilities in Washokani Camp. Since February 2026, we have been reaching further informal shelters near Qamishli, where people have sought refuge following a renewed escalation of violence. These include schools, mosques and community centres.
17,000 people rely on arche nova in Washokani Camp
Around 17,000 people live in Washokani Camp in the al-Hasaka governorate – one of the largest emergency shelters in north-eastern Syria. They have fled violence and destruction, many of them on multiple occasions over the years of war and crisis. At the end of 2025, we took over water management in the camp because the aid organisation previously responsible had to cease its work due to a lack of funding. We stepped in.
Water means a lot to us. This water mainly covers residents’ needs for drinking water and water used for hygiene and cleaning. Without it, we cannot live or continue our life here.
Due to the unstable military and political situation, we fear that water could be cut off at any moment. The reduction in support from organizations has also made us afraid that assistance might stop completely, especially water distribution.
A region where water is extremely scarce
Northern Syria was once known for its fertile soil and lush river valleys. The climate crisis and more than a decade of armed conflict have changed all that. The public water infrastructure has been largely destroyed; virtually no one can simply turn on a tap at home. The failure of the Alouk waterstation close to the Euphrates, once the main supply station for around a million people, is particularly severe – it ceased operations in 2020 due to war damage.
Since then, entire villages have been reliant on water deliveries by lorry or private wells, whose groundwater levels are falling dramatically. In 2025, the worst drought in decades further exacerbated the situation. According to the FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, six out of ten people in Syria already do not have enough to eat. Water scarcity and food insecurity are mutually reinforcing. Not least, water quality in the region poses a major problem. Many sewage treatment plants are out of service, and most surface waters are consequently heavily polluted.
Why we stay when others leave
Funding for humanitarian aid is being cut worldwide. Organisations have already withdrawn from north-eastern Syria too – the Washokani Camp is one example. arche nova remains because the emergency demands it and because we have the experience to reliably ensure basic services under difficult conditions. By 2025, we will have reached around 90,000 people in north-eastern Syria with water supplies, and around 172,000 in total through all our WASH measures. Water supply in crises is not a peripheral aspect of our work. It is at its core – on World Water Day and every other day of the year.
