THIRSTY JORDAN WILL STRUGGLE FOR WATER THIS SUMMER
Jerusalem Post
April 10 2008
Amman Jordan is this year facing a severe drought, the likes of which
it has not witnessed in decades. The government is scrambling to find
means of coping by reducing supplies to households and spearheading
a nationwide campaign to encourage rationing.
Rivers and lakes are a rare commodity in this desert kingdom, with
most of the water supply coming from dams that collect water during
the rainy winter season or from springs that have been siphoning off
the kingdom’s underground reserves.
A disappointing rainy season has left most of the country’s dams half
empty. Precipitation registered during the rainy season constituted
only 57 percent of the long-term annual average of 8.3 billion
cubic meters.
The poor rainfall has forced officials at the water authorities to cut
the quantities of water pumped to farmers in the north and western
regions. The available amount for irrigation is 130 million cubic
meters (mcm), while actual needs are estimated at 180 mcm.
The desert kingdom shares the spoils of the Yarmouk and Jordan rivers
with its powerful neighbors, Syria and Israel respectively.
Agreements have been inked by officials from the three countries on the
amounts the kingdom should receive, but Jordanian officials complain
both neighbors rarely stick to the agreements on a regular basis.
Officials in Amman say every drop will be needed this hot, dry summer,
hoping Damascus and Jerusalem will meet promises to pump the kingdom
its share of water.
"We are hopeful Syria will provide us with the needed water because
this year is difficult for us and we need every drop we can get,"
said Adnan Zu’bi, spokesman for the Ministry of Water.
Following a rare visit by King Abdallah to Syria last year, relations
between the two Arab neighbors improved after years of tension over
regional issues, mainly Lebanon. Syria promised it would pump Jordan’s
share of the Yarmouk this summer, nearly 60 mcm.
Jordanians are now concerned Syria will drag its heels on sending the
required amount, bearing in mind that the Hashemite Kingdom recently
boycotted the Arab League summit in Damascus, along with Saudi Arabia
and Egypt.
The main river here is the biblically renowned Jordan, from which
the kingdom took its name.
Once roaring in the Jordan Valley during the 1950s and 1960s, the
river turned into a wispy stream of water trickling through the farms,
serving as a natural barrier between Jordan and Israel rather than
a lifeline for the kingdom’s residents.
Most tributaries were diverted for industrial and farming proposes
by neighboring Syria and Israel. Environmentalists also say it has
become a dumping site for Israeli industrialists.
Last year, Jordan faced a similar situation with drought, though
less severe.
Israel, which pumped the required amount to Jordan in 2007, will
probably not reduce the amount of water mandated by the peace treaty
between the countries, Israel Water Authority spokesman Uri Schor told
the Associated Press. Jordan’s drought is much worse than Israel’s,
he said.
The kingdom reached an agreement with Israel on sharing water in the
1994 Wadi ‘Araba peace treaty, whereby Jordan gets around 35 mcm,
equivalent to 3 percent of the total amount of water streaming down
the river. Israel holds the remaining 97%.
Figures from the Ministry of Water and Irrigation in each country show
the water consumption of one Israeli citizen to be equal to that of
five Jordanians.
Refugees add pressure
The kingdom’s water shortage debacle can be blamed partly on its
semi-desert climate and partly on the army of refugees who keep
pouring into Jordan with each disaster that hits the region, and even
from beyond.
The first wave of refugees appeared during First World War, when
thousands of Armenians, Chechens and others settled in the country
and helped found modern Jordan. Palestinian refugees make up more than
60% of the population. They arrived after the 1948 and 1967 wars with
Israel and in the 1990s when they were evicted from Gulf states for
supporting Saddam in his invasion of Kuwait.
The latest arrivals are some 750,000 Iraqi asylum seekers, who settled
here after the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
"Part of our problem with water is imported. Waves of refugees have
caused a massive strain on our water resources," says Ellias Salameh,
water expert at the University of Jordan.
Jordan is considered one of the 10 most water-impoverished countries
in the world, with annual individual consumption reaching 140 cubic
meters a year. The average annual individual consumption worldwide
is 2,000 cubic meters, according to officials from the Jordanian
Ministry of Planning.
During a recent meeting with donor countries to discuss the status of
Iraqi refugees in Jordan, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Planning
Nasser Shreideh pointed out that JD 430 million ($606 million) was
needed to provide new water resources, construct treatment plants and
refurbish sanitation networks in different cities to help accommodate
the refugees.
The extra demand on water by Iraqis has led to an increasing water
deficit of 580 million cubic meter annually, he said during the
meeting.
Moreover, the high value of the dinar has also attracted Arab
expatriates, with figures from the Ministry of Interior showing that
an army of 500,000 Egyptian and Syrian expatriates are adding further
pressure on the precious water resources.
"I did not see one refugee coming carrying water with him," Shreideh
said.
An added burden is expected between June and September from nearly half
a million Jordanian expatriates who return during the summer holidays.
The available water for the capital this summer is estimated at around
70 mcm – well below the actual needs of Amman residents of 100 mcm,
according to Ministry of Water spokesman Zu’bi
To that end, the government has announced a contingency plan ranging
from rationing supply to households by pumping once a week for five
hours, to stopping supplying certain farms and encouraging others to
grow less water-consuming vegetation.
Jordanian officials, however, see the light at the end of the tunnel,
as they point to an ambitious project to draw water from the Disi
Aquifer in the south to Amman in a $600-million project.
The government is in the final stages of negotiations with Turkish
investors to launch the project, which is expected to supply Amman
with water for 100 years.