Jordan in talks with Syria to secure more water

AMMAN — Jordan is in talks with the Syrians to supply the Kingdom with water to offset a severe shortage this summer, estimated at 40 million cubic meters.اضافة اعلان

Meeting with members of the Lower House’s Agriculture, Water, and Irrigation Committee on Sunday, Minister of Water and Irrigation Mohammad Al-Najjar outlined a number of measures the government is considering to make up for the shortage, blamed on a poor rain season that left dams with critical levels of water.

Jordan has recently requested Israel to provide additional quantities of water to address the situation. The request was approved after some delay.

He also pointed out that only 5 to 8 percent of rain water is collected. "This water must be used by digging wells and constructing dams; it is not reasonable to waste all this water,” he said.

Najjar revealed that the quantities supplied for industrial purposesrovide additional quantities of water to address the situation. The request was approved after some delay.

With a hot summer ahead, the Kingdom, one of the most water-scarce countries in the world, is anticipating even more problems with water supply than usual.

MP Najeh Al-Adwan, member and rapporteur of the committee, said that the committee gave the government one week to work out a more solid plan, with the help of experts, to come up with an emergency solutions for this summer.

The lawmaker noted that almost 46 percent of the water network is wasted. "This is a very high percentage, almost a half, and it means that when 100 meters are pumped, 46 meters in the south of the Kingdom, which is hit harder by the water scarcity, have been reduced, in favor of providing citizens with enough drinking water.

Najjar pointed out that the solutions suggested include drilling new wells and renting wells from the private sector, also underlining the “costly” possibility of increasing pumping from the Disi water aquifer.

Najjar said that the proposed national carrier project, a desalination scheme involving water conveyance from Aqaba to Amman, will provide about 300 million cubic meters of water annually will cost about JD2 billion, which will be secured through grants and funding by local banks as partners.

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