U.S. Water News Online
BASSA, Jordan -- Farmer Gandhi Ghaleb praises Allah for this year's heavy rainfall, which sent water flowing again in a spring that feeds his three acres.
"Many trees and crops died last year because there was no water," he said. "Look at the trees, the greenery and the strong flow of the spring this year. It's all the works of Allah and His mercy."
A good rainfall is becoming increasingly precious in parched Jordan, where groundwater is being depleted, water quality is declining and oases are drying up. The amount of water available for each person has plummeted 94 percent since the 1940s, according to government statistics, and households only get pumped water one day a week.
This year's rainfall -- Jordan's only source for drinking, irrigation and municipal use -- has filled 40 percent of the country's eight main reservoirs, where water dwindled to a crisis level of 3 percent last year, Water Minister Hazem al-Nasser said. Still, the country remains thirsty.
"Water scarcity represents one of the major challenges facing Jordan," said al-Nasser, whose planning and crackdown on water violations has improved supplies to many parts of the kingdom.
Several projects al-Nasser initiated include wastewater treatment plants, which increased the supply of drinking water to heavily populated areas in central Jordan -- all with financial assistance and expertise from the United States, Japan and Germany.
The Water Ministry has also cut water for irrigation in the highlands by 50 percent, banned new licenses to pump groundwater and urged farmers to use recycled water.
Repairs were completed on some parts of a 60-year-old, rusty network of pipes said to lose 50 percent of pumped water nationwide. New water meters have curbed cheating and helped the state detect hundreds of illegal connections that had significantly reduced water flow.
The government handed over water management to the French company Lema three years ago, ending favoritism that had prevailed for decades. Water officials have complained that some politicians had previously refused to pay expensive bills -- mostly for water used in their swimming pools.
Lema has levied premiums against heavy users, generating more income needed to carry out repairs.
The importance of water is evident in Bassa, a village six miles west of the Jordanian capital, Amman. There, the spring that feeds Ghaleb's small farm has become an attraction for picnickers and a source of drinking water.
Walid Abbadi, 11, and his sister Najwa, 9, make 20 rounds up and down a hill to the spring each day to haul water on donkey back for their family.
"Pumped water is weak and doesn't reach our home," Walid said. "Somebody must do this job, otherwise we'd die of thirst."
In Bassa, as elsewhere in Jordan, residents store water in cisterns dug underground or placed atop buildings. Under a rationing program introduced 20 years ago, water is pumped once a week to Jordanian households, each co mprising an average of seven people. Jordanians can also buy water from private suppliers for eight times the fee paid to Lema.
Yousef Abbas stores water each week in the underground cistern in his back yard, but it's not enough for his 10-member family. "I buy a similar quantity from private vendors and that costs me one-tenth of my salary," he said.
Across the dusty street, Ibrahim Abul-Roz said he spends $100 each week on water to mix cement for the construction of his one-story home.
"When I can't find water, this place becomes a picnic area for construction workers who have no work to do," he said.
Because of the shortage of water, Abul-Roz has waited six months -- the time it takes to build a six-story apartment block in the capital -- for his modest home. He expects to wait several more months.
Each year, Jordan faces a 30 percent water deficit, mainly caused by spreading cities, industrialization and a growing population. A wave of immigrants caused by the Arab-Israeli wars and the Persian Gulf War has added to the strain.
The 1994 peace treaty with Israel gave Jordan a glimpse of hope. Despite a drought that has battered the Middle East since 1997, Israel has complied with the treaty's provisions and supplied its Arab neighbor with 875 million cubic feet of water each year. That is 10 percent of Jordan's annual drinking needs, or 3 percent of its overall requirement.
In a project seen crucial for Jordan's survival, the government plans to begin pumping water from an aquifer under the southeastern desert in 2005. It should supply water for at least 50 years.
Construction will also start next year on the $160 million Wihdeh Dam near the northern border with Syria. The dam is expected to provide Jordan with 3.8 billion cubic feet of water starting in early 2005.
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