IRBID
— Tabnah, a town in
Irbid’s Kourah district, has faced chronic water scarcity,
residents say. Those water problems have become more intense since maintenance
work on the town’s main road damaged the water line.
اضافة اعلان
“We
have been suffering from a water problem in Tabnah for a very long time,” one
resident who spoke to
Jordan News on condition of anonymity.
“The main
water station, Ain Sirin,
pumps water to the whole of Irbid, and the Tabnah
area only (receives water) about two hours every two weeks, which is not enough
to fill half of the (water) tank.”
The
lack of water has driven people to purchase water from private companies, which
itself has become more expensive due to the maintenance work on Tabnah’s main
road, the resident added. “The demand for water is large. We are talking here
about the main needs for water only, not about irrigation and cleaning.”
Dirar
Bani Issa, an inhabitant of one of the neighborhoods of Tabnah, told
Jordan
News that she manages to get by with the current water supply, but only
because “I own a private water well, and have just two children. But with
regard to families who have more people, they really need more water.”
Bani
Issa echoed her fellow resident’s complaint about Tabnah’s road maintenance: “Fractures
are repaired immediately, but this had an impact in the last few weeks.”
The
area’s geography is also a factor, she said, explaining that because the mountainous
terrain necessitates “a stronger pumping force.”
Low-income
families in particular feel the strain, as they have no choice but to purchase
more expensive water to meet their needs, she stressed, citing her neighbor as
an example: “Their need for water forces them to buy it, and thus pay large
costs that may reach JD80 per month for a family of seven.”
Muntaser
Al-Momani, director of Yarmouk Water Company, which supplies water to the
Tabnah area, said the company was aware of the problem in the area, telling
Jordan
News that “there was previously a problem with amount of water being pumped,
but we dealt with it by expanding the water line from 4 inches to 6 inches.”
The
director acknowledged that the disruptions caused by the road maintenance are being
conducted by a public contractor. “Since the expansion is large, the water line
was broken many times,” Momani said. “But we have been dealing with the problem
immediately and we are working hard to avoid any problem of this kind.”
Media
spokesperson for the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Omar Salama, said in an
interview, "We are working hard not to cut off water from any region in
Jordan, and we have not received any complaints about a continuous water cut,”
adding that the ministry acts quickly to address every complaint it receives.
“However,
citizens should know that what we suffer in water scarcity is a reality in
Jordan as a whole,” Salama said, citing the combination of a weak rainy season and
this summer’s especially high temperatures. “Citizens should be more aware
against wasteful use of water.”
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