Northern governorates see 15% rise in water subscribers due to Syrian refugee influx

AMMAN — Water subscribers in the northern governorates increased by 15 per cent in 2014 due to the fact that the region hosts the majority of Syrian refugees residing in the Kingdom, government officials said on Saturday.

The number of subscribers in the Mafraq, Ajloun, Jerash and Irbid governorates stood at 289,362 last year, up from 274,516 subscribers in 2013, Water Minister Hazem Nasser said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

Nasser noted that the increase is a clear indicator of the volume of pressure on the water resources and facilities in the northern region as well as the challenges facing the sector in catering to more consumers.

The minister made the remarks during an emergency meeting with heads of water directorates in the north, during which they presented their plans to deal with the expected surge in demand as summer approaches and the weather starts to warm up.

Water Ministry Spokesperson Omar Salameh ascribed the increase in subscribers to the large number of Syrians living in the northern region.

“This 15 per cent increase is unprecedented in the Kingdom. The real challenge is that more subscribers will join the water network this year,” he told The Jordan Times.

The water directorates in the north and the Yarmouk Water Company will this year carry out a campaign to rectify water violations, which will result in more households being linked to the water network.

Salameh explained that in many cases more than five Syrian refugee households use the same water meter, which is a violation.

“We have ordered the purchase of hundreds of new meters this year to cope with the expected rise in subscriptions,” he noted.

Around 1.4 million Syrians reside in the Kingdom, of whom 637,000 were registered refugees as of January, according to Interior Ministry figures.

The number of Syrians residing in official camps stands at 100,000, constituting 15 per cent of registered Syrian refugees and 7 per cent of the total number of Syrians in Jordan.

Amman, Mafraq and Irbid host the largest number of Syrian refugees living outside camps in Jordan. 

Also on Saturday, Nasser instructed water directorates in the north to set up a central complaints centre to handle water complaints with “a high level of professionalism and responsibility”.

He also urged them to carry out periodic field surveys to ensure that residents regularly receive sufficient water.

The minister underscored that several new water resources will become operational before summer to deal with the expected rise in demand as temperatures start going up.

“The new water resources will provide Mafraq, Jerash and Ajloun governorates with 1,000 cubic metres of water per week,” the statement quoted Nasser as saying.

In addition, the ministry — in cooperation with international organisations — will rehabilitate a number of wells to produce 500 cubic metres of water per hour as well as others to generate 200-300 cubic metres of water per hour to enhance water supply in the north.

There over 1.830 million water consumers in the northern region who receives 94 cubic metres per capita per year, according to the minister, who noted that a quarter of the consumers are Syrians.

Of the refugees residing in the north, 25 per cent are in Irbid Governorate, 49 per cent in Mafraq, 20 per cent in Jerash and 15 per cent in Ajloun, Nasser said.