GAM inspects drainage system ahead of wet season, requests public’s cooperation

AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) is checking up on the capital’s streets and manholes ahead of the wet season to prevent road flooding during heavy rain, a municipal official said on Monday.

However, the municipality added that making sure the streets and manholes of Amman are ready to handle rainwater during winter requires the public’s cooperation.

“GAM teams are cleaning storm drains, manholes and canals in main and secondary roads, bridges and tunnels. Cleaning manholes is an ongoing process because of the many construction projects in Amman,” Basem Tarawneh, deputy of Amman city director for districts and environmental affairs said.

Contractors and owners of construction projects often leave construction materials and debris on the side of the street, next to the construction site, Tarawneh added, noting that when it rain, the debris, sand and rocks are carried away with the rainwater, which blocks manholes and results in flooding.

GAM said it urges contractors ahead of every wet season to make sure construction materials are moved inside the construction site and that sand piles and other constructions materials are covered to prevent them from being blown with the wind or carried away with rainwater.

“The movement of storm water following the first rains of the season is always rapid, which causes debris and construction materials left in empty lots and on the sides of streets to find their way into the drainage system,” Tarawneh noted.

In addition, the GAM is also trimming trees on sidewalks to prevent them from reaching power cables and causing outages, according to the municipality, which also urged people to trim tree branches in their yards to prevent them from falling during windy weather or reaching electricity cables.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Water and Irrigation and the Jordan Water Company (Miyahuna) again warned people against linking their wastewater systems to the drainage systems.

“This is an illegal practice which pressures the wastewater network and causes flooding every winter. People are requested to remove drainage pipes connected to street manholes ahead of the rainy season to avoid fines,” ministry spokesperson, Omar Salameh said.