Dams’ hold nearly double what they contained last December — ministry

AMMAN — A total of 105.7 million cubic metres (mcm) of water is stored in the Kingdom’s 14 major dams, which consitute 31.1 per cent of the dams’ total capacity, the Ministry of Water and Irrigation said on Sunday.

Ministry Secretary General Ali Suboh said that the dams had received 3.8mcm of water over the past two days, noting that the dams contained 62mcm this time last year and were at 18.6 per cent capacity, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The amount of rainfall that had drenched the Kingdom up until Sunday morning stood at 3.2 billion cubic metres, constituting 40 per cent of the country’s long-term annual average, Suboh added.

He noted that such amounts are a sign of a good rainy season, saying conditions point to more depressions hitting the country before the wet season comes to an end. 

More precipitation leads to soil saturation, increasing levels of groundwater and filling dams, which can contribute to a better agricultural season, especially for rain-fed agricultural crops that depend on heavy amounts of water, Suboh added. 

He pointed out that the ministry seeks to increase the capacity of the country’s 14 major dams from 336mcm to 400mcm, adding that there are plans to establish more aquifers in desert areas and to harvest water from rooftops.

The ministry unveiled a plan to build 11 new dams in 2019 last week, which would raise the total number of dams in the country to 25.

Several of Jordan’s dams reached their full capacity this year, including the Waleh Dam in Madaba, after heavy rains during the beginning of the wet season caused massive amounts of rainwater to flow in from nearby areas.