‘Feasibility studies under way for new dam in Karak’

AMMAN — An economic feasibility study and an environmental impact assessment are under way for a new dam in Karak Governorate to store additional water and reduce floods, government officials said on Tuesday.

The studies will be completed within six months and construction work on the dam in Wadi Assal will begin when they are completed, Water Ministry Spokesperson Omar Salameh said.

“The studies, which will cost JD280,000, are funded by the Jordan Bromine Company, while the new dam will cost JD11 million and be co-funded by the company and the government,” Salameh told The Jordan Times over the phone.

Construction of the dam will take two years, according to Jordan Valley Authority Secretary General Saad Abu Hammour.

In a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times, Abu Hammour said the 1.8-million cubic-metre Wadi Assal Dam will provide local communities with additional water, recharge aquifers, protect area residents from the danger of flooding during winter and provide water for tourist projects in Karak, 140km south of Amman.

Wadi Assal’s water channels into the Dead Sea. It is one of Jordan’s hiking destinations for adventure seekers, featuring narrow canyons, streams, waterfalls, and diverse fauna and flora, according to local hiking and adventure websites.

Salameh said the dam will be built as part of a Water Ministry strategy announced in August to increase water storage.

The water harvesting plan seeks to raise rainwater storage in dams by over 25 per cent within five years. Under the strategy, new dams will be constructed to raise the overall storage capacity from the current 327mcm to more than 400mcm.

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

Ten major dams are located across the Kingdom, in addition to more than 143 large reservoirs to collect floodwater in the desert and over 25 sand dams.

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