Ministry supplying treated wastewater for industry, irrigation in south Amman

AMMAN — The Ministry of Water and Irrigation started supplying treated wastewater for industrial uses and irrigation in south Amman on Sunday.

A total of 7,700 cubic metres of treated wastewater will be channelled daily from South Amman Wastewater Treatment Plant under multiple agreements signed on Sunday between the ministry and beneficiaries, according to a ministry statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

The treated wastewater will be used for the irrigation of some 3,554 dunums of maize for fodder and berseem clover among other fodder crops, and for industrial uses and cultivating the surroundings of a factory, the ministry said.

Water Minister Hazem Nasser said in the statement that the move seeks to create job opportunities, support cattle breeders and improve local communities’ living conditions.

Nasser underscored that South Amman Wastewater Treatment Plant will provide irrigation water for 15,000 dunums of fodder in later phases.

Meanwhile, the ministry’s spokesperson, Omar Salameh, told The Jordan Times that the treated wastewater will be provided at a minimal cost, highlighting that authorities will intensify monitoring of the use of the treated wastewater to make sure it is being used for restricted cultivations, such as fodder.

The ministry said that it has completed construction on a project to convey and collect the treated wastewater for the irrigation of fodder, which commenced in March.

The project includes a pipeline for transferring treated wastewater from the plant, as well as an artificial pond for holding 30,000 cubic metres of the treated wastewater, according to the ministry.

Located in Jizah, south of the capital, the South Amman Wastewater Treatment Plant officially started operating in October 2015.

Constructed at a cost of $121 million, the plant’s treatment capacity stands at 52,000 cubic metres per day and serves 600,000 people in south Amman.