Authorities to link three Madaba areas to sewage network

AMMAN — Work is currently under way to link households with no access to wastewater services in Madaba Governorate to the sewage network, a government official said on Sunday.

Implementation of the project started this week, the Water Ministry official said, noting that the sewage network in more than three neighbourhoods will be ready by early next year.

“Households will be linked to the sewage network during the first quarter of 2015,” the official told The Jordan Times.

The project, which will cost JD1 million, will end the problem of spreading cesspits in areas not covered by the sewage network, he said, highlighting that this will help preserve underground water from pollution and protect the environment.

Cesspits cause recurring pollution incidents because some of them are not built according to standards, or their owners neglect having them emptied which causes them to overflow and reach part of the water network.

“More projects will follow once funding is secured to link households to the sewage network,” the official noted.

He underscored that the ministry has started working on the blueprints of another wastewater project to cover five residential areas in Madaba, noting that it will cost JD250,000.

Madaba Governorate, with a population of over 150,000, is situated around 33 kilometres southwest of the capital. 

Water per capita in Madaba stands at 133 cubic metres, while the water loss percentage is one of the lowest in the Kingdom — estimated at 31 per cent compared with 34 per cent in Amman.

The government official said the sewage network project is funded by the Gulf grant.

In 2011, the Gulf Cooperation Council allocated $5 billion to finance development projects in Jordan during the 2012-2016 period. The grant is divided between Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, with each country paying $1.25 billion.

Some $425.4 million are allocated for water and sanitation projects.