10 major dams now 60% full — Jordan Valley Authority

AMMAN — The Kingdom’s 10 major dams now hold 60 per cent of their total capacity of 325 million cubic metres (mcm), a government official said Monday.

As of Monday morning, the dams held 191mcm, according to Jordan Valley Authority Secretary General Saad Abu Hammour.

“The storage levels at the dams are sufficient for this time of the year and higher than last year. The rainy season's performance is also good and we are hopeful for more rain as the wet season is still ongoing,” Abu Hammour told The Jordan Times over the phone.

During this time last year, the dams held 165.5mcm, according to figures from the Water Ministry, which also indicated that 71 per cent of the long term annual average of rainfall of 8 billion cubic metres has been achieved.

Dams are located across the Kingdom and include 10 major dams, more than 143 large ponds to collect floodwater in the desert and over 25 sand dams, according to the Water Ministry.

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

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

"A total of 5mcm went into the country's dams between Saturday and Monday morning," Abu Hammour said, noting that the dams in the southern region did not receive any additional storage.

A cold air mass affected the country on Saturday, bringing heavy rain and hail, according to the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD), which said that the impact of the cold air mass ended on Monday morning.

Temperatures on Tuesday are expected to rise back to their annual average of 13ºC for this time of the year, according to the JMD website, which indicated that the weather will be relatively cold across the country and fair in the Jordan Valley and Aqaba.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the weather will remain relatively cold, but fair in the Jordan Valley and Aqaba, the JMD said, adding that temperatures will range between a high of 12ºC and a low of 4ºC-5ºC in Amman.