Water Ministry deals with water theft incident in south Amman

AMMAN — The Ministry of Water and Irrigation said on Sunday it has dealt with a water theft incident in south Amman. 

The ministry said that a pipe was sabotaged to illegally fill water tankers in an area adjacent to the airport road, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The ministry added that necessary measures were taken and illegal fixtures were removed, Petra, reported.

In 1997, the ministry banned the drilling of wells to limit random pumping of water and preserve aquifers from depletion and salinity.

International studies indicate that water levels at several aquifers have been dropping at a rate of one metre per year, with more than 50 million cubic metres of underground water being extracted through indiscriminate pumping.

Under the Water Authority of Jordan Law, those who tamper with water carriers and mains, wastewater, pumping, purification or de-salination stations, or cause the pollution of water resources, pipes or stations used for drinking water, or are involved in the digging of wells without obtaining a licence will be jailed for up to five years and fined up to JD7,000.

Violators of water and wastewater projects will face a prison term of up to three years and a maximum fine of JD5,000.

The ministry has previously said that in 2022 it shut down 86 illegal wells and dealt with 10,000 instances of theft on main lines.

It also said that water losses due to repeated instances of water theft amounted to about 9.58 million cubic metres in 2022.