‘Ministry revamping, drilling wells in south to meet rising water demand’

AMMAN — The Ministry of Water and Irrigation is rehabilitating and drilling new wells in the south to meet an increasing demand for water during summer, a government official said Saturday.

The Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ) has started rehabilitating Al Qatraneh wells to raise their capacity, an official at the Water Ministry said.

Al Qatraneh wells have long been one of the sources supplying the capital with part of its water needs, but following the inauguration of the Disi Water Conveyance Project last year, the ministry diverted Al Qatraneh wells’ water to Karak Governorate, 140km south of Amman, to improve its water supply.

Al Qatraneh wells pump 12,000 cubic metres of water per day to Karak, according to figures from the ministry, which indicated that water supply from the wells will increase once the rehabilitation project is completed.

In addition, WAJ started drilling a new well in Hassa in Tafileh Governorate, 180km south of the capital, to raise water amounts in the south, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The projects are part of the second phase of the ministry’s water emergency plan, which was announced last week to deal with the increasing demand for water with the onset of summer and the fasting month of Ramadan, as well as the influx of tourists, expatriates and Syrian refugees, he added.

Under the emergency plan, the ministry will also establish a water reservoir in Eimeh village in Tafileh to store 1,000 cubic metres of water to supply the village’s residents with extra water, in addition to plans to establish during another reservoir in Hassa this year at a cost of JD100,000 to increase water supply in the southern governorate.

In addition, the ministry last week started pumping water from Lajjoun wells to address water shortage in Karak, the official said, noting that rehabilitation work is under way on Karak’s two main pumping stations, which are expected to begin operating in October this year.