Water harvesting plan to raise dam storage levels by over 25% — Nasser

AMMAN — The Ministry of Water and Irrigation on Saturday announced a water harvesting plan designed to raise rainwater storage in dams by over 25 per cent within five years.

Under the plan, new dams will be constructed to raise the overall storage capacity from the current 327 million cubic metres (mcm) to more than 400mcm, Water Minister Hazem Nasser said.

“The plan is already under way, as the ministry started construction work on several dams, including the Wadi Al Karak and Wadi Ibn Hammad dams in Karak Governorate, and the Kufranjah Dam in Ajloun Governorate, in addition to the expansion of Al Waleh Dam in Madaba,” Nasser said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times. 

The plan entails the construction of new dams and scores of sand dams, desert dams and ponds in the badia to cater for the water needs of local communities and recharge underground aquifers to improve their water quality, according to the minister.

He added that the ministry has completed studies and blueprints for the construction of the Zarqa-Maeen Dam, Al Lajjoun Dam in Karak, Wadi Al Karak Dam in Karak, Dlagha Dam in Maan, Haleq Dam in the capital, Al Buttom in Zarqa Governorate, Zaatari Dam in Mafraq Governorate, Falha Dam in Madaba and Um Allozeh in Tafileh Governorate.

In addition, the plan entails raising the walls of the 8.18mcm Waleh Dam and the 1.41mcm Wadi Shuaib Dam. Both dams reach their maximum capacity almost every winter and overflow. 

Dams are located across the Kingdom, Nasser said, noting that there are 10 major dams, more than 143 large ponds to collect floodwater in the desert and over 25 sand dams.

The Kingdom’s 10 major dams are: King Talal, Wadi Al Arab, Sharhabil, Kafrein, Wadi Shuaib, Karameh, Tannour, Waleh, Mujib and Wihdeh.

“The water harvesting plan... will support the agriculture sector and the national economy by creating new investments as well as nourishing underground aquifers,” the minister added.

Although expensive to build, dams are vital for the Kingdom to secure its water needs, according to experts.

“The new dams will be ready before 2020… The country’s 10 main dams currently hold 140mcm of their total capacity of 327mcm,” Water Ministry Spokesperson Omar Salameh told The Jordan Times over the phone.

Jordan, which is considered the world’s fourth water poorest country, suffers an annual water deficit of 500mcm, while per capita share of water does not exceed 150 cubic metres annually, well below the water poverty line of 500 cubic metres per year.

According to official figures, 91 per cent of the Kingdom’s total area of 97,000 square kilometres is arid land with an annual average rainfall of 50-200 millimetres (mm), while 2.9 per cent is categorised as semi-arid with an annual average rainfall of 400-580mm.