Reporters visit dam in Dead Sea disaster’s aftermath

AMMAN — Hisham Abu Haisah, director of dams at the Jordan Valley Authority, said that the Zarqa-Maeen Dam stored water for the first time last weekend since its establishment back in 2015, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

An estimated 500,000 cubic metres of water was stored last weekend in the dam whose storing capacity amounts to 2 million cubic metres, Abu Haisah noted.

During a recent press tour to the dam, the director denied the existence of water gates at the dam, affirming that it has a pipe for dispensing water. He stressed that the dam was designed to protect the lower areas from floods and to provide water for farmers. 

News reports have been circulated on social media websites, Claiming that last Thursday's flashfloods in the Dead Sea were caused by huge amounts of water released from the nearby Zarqa-Maeen Dam. A total of 21 people, mostly school children, died in the flashfloods. 

After checking on the dam facilities, reporters confirmed the absence of gates, contradicting some popular claims that this was responsible for the Dead Sea flashfloods. 

Answering a question about a defect in the floor of the dam, Abu Haisah said that water seepage was detected, which seemed “unnatural” after the base of the dam lowered down, noting that this problem has since been tackled by the contracting company. 

He pointed out that such water seepage is “expected and natural” as it happened during the testing period of the dam. 

Water Ministry Spokesperson Omar Salameh said that the aim of the visit was to check on the safety of the dam and respond to rumours which claimed that opening the dam’s gates, which he said “do not exist”, was the reason behind the flashfloods. He insisted that heavy rains were the reason for the incident.