Oman- In a country classified as the poorest water in the world, it faces Jordan A stifling crisis threatens its water stability, which increases the suffering of its citizens, as the specter of a watershed water crisis on the horizon is waving after a rainy season that is one of the weakest in recent years, which led to a decrease in the stocks of dams and the decline in the feeding of groundwater sources.
The amount of rain recorded low rates during the past winter, which threatens serious impacts on the already limited water resources, and threatens to worsen the water scarcity crisis that the Kingdom suffers from, with increasing calls to find innovative and sustainable solutions, to meet the challenges of water security amid climate changes that strike the region cruelly.
The repercussions are no longer limited to household uses, but rather the impact of the water scarcity extended to the agricultural sector, as specialists and farmers express their concern about the future, especially in light of the continued drought and the decline in the stocks of dams.
Minister of Water: There is no water in water basins and dams, we cannot liquefy from #Jordan #Ministry of Water #Dams #Here_Al -Kingdom pic.twitter.com/VtdHCSYKgP
Kingdom Channel (@almamlakatv) December 17, 2024
Weather
She confirmed Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) The weather conditions and lack of rain have negatively affected the agricultural production in Jordan, which witnessed in the current year dry climate conditions and a rise in temperatures, which negatively affected the production of grains, especially in governorates IrbidArgers, violent.
The UN organization indicated that the amounts of rain were less than half of the normal rate, which is expected to reduce the productivity of wheat, barley and some other grain crops, while the Ministry of Water and Irrigation data indicates a sharp decline in the storage of dams, as it decreased by 26.24% between 2023 and 2024.
The total storage volume in dams reached about 87.5 million cubic meters last year, compared to 118.6 million cubic meters in the year 2023, in light of the exacerbation of the gap between the quantities of water entering the dams and those outside it, and specialists fear the impact of the water crisis on the stability of drinking water supplies for areas with high population density, especially in the capital Amman and the province BlueWith expectations to impose more hard -line distribution programs and legalization next summer.
The reasons for the exacerbation of the water crisis in Jordan – according to experts – are due to the following:
- A very weak rainy season this year, causing damage to dams and wells.
- Climate change led to severe fluctuations in rainfall and increased dehydration.
- High consumption of water with an increase in population and refugees.
- Instructions for water sources, and overflowing the ground wells.
- Weakness of infrastructure and water loss as a result of leakage and attacks.
Acute crisis
For his part, a spokesman for the Ministry of Water and Irrigation Omar Salama stressed that the water crisis and the challenges facing the country are chronic, noting that the Kingdom is considered one of the poorest countries in the world, as the individual’s share of all uses does not exceed 61 cubic meters annually, and depends heavily on the management of limited sources and justice in distribution, amid the exacerbation of the pressures resulting from population growth, asylum, climate change and attacks.
Salama told Al -Jazeera Net that the inability of drinking water in Jordan during this summer is about 30 to 40 million cubic meters, and it is concentrated in the areas of the center and north in particular, as the storage of dams was weak this year, and it did not exceed 40%, which affected some springs.
The Ministry of Water works – according to him – to manage the available water and distribute it with high responsibility, indicating that its available quantities are limited, and the pumping and distribution operations are running according to weekly or almost weekly roles, using computerized programs that take into account the needs of each region, where each subscription is allocated between 4 and 6 cubic meters in each water role, according to the geographical distribution and the need of the region.
Regarding the most prominent water problems facing Jordan, Salama pointed to the decline in groundwater, explaining that the plans and programs executed, the efforts to reduce losses, secure unconventional sources, and the use of modern technology, especially artificial intelligence In the distribution of water, it improved the efficiency of the supply operations significantly in most areas, as well as partnership with citizens through awareness campaigns.
In turn, the expert in water affairs, Duraid Mahasana, called on the government to move urgent by digging new wells, enhancing the extraction of groundwater, intensifying control of water thefts, and organizing the work of water tanks on which citizens depend at the time of crises.
Solutions
“The citizen does not get enough water even in the best seasons, so how will the situation be with a significant decline in the stock?”, Adding that there are many areas in Oman Other governorates suffer from water weakness or interruption, and if “its connection is not enough to meet the basic needs of families.”
He called for reducing seasonal crops this summer and directing water resources for home supply, stressing that the “theft” of water weakens justice in distribution and increases the burden on committed citizens.
He also called for opening the way for private investments in water desalination projects, while ensuring government control over the prices of private stations to prevent the exploitation of citizens ’need.
The per capita water in Jordan is about 60 cubic meters annually, compared to the global average of 500 cubic meters, according to the Ministry of Water. As a result of the delay in the rains and perhaps its imprisonment this season, the per capita share is a candidate to decrease to less than 30 cubic meters during the coming years, and perhaps less than that, in addition to the effects that will be attached to the agricultural sector and the decline in the cultivated lands.
Among the most important options available to confront this crisis is the drilling of groundwater wells in several areas for agricultural purposes and home uses, according to the ministry.
Jordan had signed the contract for the construction of a desalination and transport project Aqaba-Amman (the National Transport Project) with an alliance of investors led by the “Meridam” and “Swiss” company, aimed at desalination of 300 million cubic meters of sea water annually from the Gulf of Aqaba, and to find sustainable water shortages, as part of an economic modernization plan adopted by the Kingdom.