AMMAN —
The director of the
Mafraq Governorate Water Department, Basil Basbous, said on
Tuesday that the delivery of water to citizens’ homes depends largely on
groundwater wells, noting that the groundwater level has recently fallen to
nearly 500 meters in some areas of the governorate due to drilling of wells on
the Syrian side, Al-Mamlaka TV reported.
اضافة اعلان
Speaking at a
dialogue session held by the West Asia and North Africa Institute, which is
conducting a study in urban areas hosting Syrian refugees, Basbous said that
that the percentage of rainwater utilization ranges between 2–5 percent only.
He indicated that
the Yarmouk Water Department had 35,000 subscribers before the Syria crisis,
while it now stands at 55,000 as a result of hosting Syrian refugees. This
number, he said, is very large in relation to the water availability.
He added that the
governorate faces a major challenge, represented by the old water and sewage
networks, stressing the need to have this infrastructure changed.
Dean of the Faculty
of Earth and Environmental Sciences at
Al al-Bayt University Sanaa Al-Zayoud
said that one of the solutions to the water problem in Mafraq is to have
national institutions enter partnerships to raise awareness about the
importance of water harvesting and exploiting rainwater, even if it is scarce.
Zayoud also said
that the sewage and water networks must be changed, to reduce water losses.
Reem Haddadin, a
researcher in the field of sustainable development at the Royal Scientific
Society, explained that the aim of the research project carried out by the West
Asia and North Africa Institute in cooperation with the
Royal Scientific Society, the University of Science and Technology, and University College
London is to identify the gaps and problems the water and sanitation sector
faces in camps and among host communities.
Haddadin said that
the study will focus on the King Abdullah suburb of Mafraq, which is expected
to host a high percentage of Syrian refugees, and the Zaatari camp.
The study relies on
several tools, including a survey, a qualitative field study, focused
discussion sessions, and specific interviews, and cooperation with
international partners will help provide support and assistance to solve the
problem.
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