AMMAN — A recent bid issued by the Jordan Valley Authority (JVA)
aims to reduce water wastage in the southern part of the King Abdullah Canal,
the largest irrigation water conveyor in Jordan.
اضافة اعلان
According to JVA Secretary-General Manar Mahasneh, recent studies revealed
that 38 percent of the southern canal water goes to waste.
“One of the reasons
for water loss is the illegal withdrawal of water from the King Abdullah Canal,
amounting to almost 23 percent. A small percentage of the loss can be
attributed to evaporation,” Mahasneh told
Jordan News.
“The project to decrease water wastage includes multiple plans. We
conducted a preliminary study that reviewed water loss in the King Abdullah
Canal as a whole. Then, we conducted a detailed study of the southern part of
the canal funded by the European Investment Bank. The northern part of the
canal is still being revised, funded by the KfW Development Bank,” she added.
Different studies were conducted on the canal, since the water in the
northern part is for drinking and irrigation, while the southern part water is
only used for irrigation.
JVA wants to make a portion of the southern part of the canal a closed
pipe, instead of the current open channel, and after careful consideration it
was determined that about 8 km of the southern canal, which spans a total of
45km, will undergo the alteration.
“The portion of the southern canal that will be altered was determined
after thorough economic, environmental, and social research. It is also the
part that has the most cracks and damage in its foundation,” said Mahasneh.
Dureid Mahasneh, a chairman of Edama Association, an NGO established in
2009 in response to Jordan’s energy, environment, and water security needs,
said: “The advantage is that with a closed pipe flow there is less pollution.
Having a closed pipe flow also means that there would be a decrease in
unaccounted-for water loss. Fixing a portion of damaged parts of the canal
would minimize that water loss.”
Part of the bid is also a plan that aims to rehabilitate water irrigation
systems in the Wadi Araba region, which JVA handles.
According to Dureid Mahasneh, “when these water irrigation systems are
updated, we will have better water management. Any leaks or damages that these
systems have sustained over the years would be fixed, leading to less water
loss”.
The water irrigation systems in Wadi Araba date back to the 1960s and 70s.
Dureid Mahsneh added: “With newer irrigation systems, water consumption is
monitored more accurately. We will have better information about how much water
is being pumped, consumed, or lost exactly.”
The
project aims to strengthen control and monitoring systems.
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