Project to improve Karak water supply at cost of JD10m

AMMAN — Implementation of a JD10 million project to annually supply Karak Governorate with 5 million cubic metres (mcm) of water commenced on Saturday.

Under the implementation agreement signed Saturday between the Water Ministry and a local contractor, the project is scheduled to be completed by July, before demand for water surges during the dry season, Water Minister Hazem Nasser said.

“This is a vital project designed to address the shortage of water allocated to Karak, especially its northern parts. Demand for water is increasing and water resources and networks are witnessing increasing, pressure due to the continuous Syrian migration,” Nasser said at the signing agreement.

The minister said construction on the project will commence immediately to have it ready before summer, expecting Karak residents to start receiving the project’s water before June.

Under the project, an 18.5-kilometre pipeline will be installed to channel water from the Mujib Dam to Karak, 140km south of Amman.

The projected pipeline will convey 5mcm from Mujib Dam to the Shihan Reservoir, which has the capacity to store 1,500 cubic metres. 

Established in 2003, Mujib Dam has a maximum capacity of 29.8mcm.

In addition, six submersible water pumps with a pumping capacity of 300 cubic metres per hour will be installed as part of the project, which also entails the construction of three reservoirs to store 2,000 cubic metres of water.

“State-of-the-art technologies” will be applied in this project, under which water will be desalinated and treated with an advanced ultra-filtration system, according to the ministry.

“Once implemented, water supply to 40,000 people in northern Karak will improve,” Nasser said, noting that the project is funded by the Kuwaiti government and the Treasury.

Karak has a population of over 170,000, according to the Department of Statistics. The governorate is home to several of the country’s main wells, streams and dams. 

Water per capita in Karak stands at 165 litres per day, according to the Water Ministry, which describes the amount as above average.

However, 60 per cent of the supplied water is lost through leakage due to violations and deteriorated water networks, pipes and pumping stations.