Jordan’s
taps are drying up. One of the most water-starved countries in the world, Jordan is in the midst
of a crippling water crisis
fueled by population growth, climate change,
drought, and depleted aquifers.
اضافة اعلان
But
among the biggest contributors to Jordan’s water scarcity is something far more
mundane: plumbing. Non-revenue water (NRW) — water lost to leaky pipes, theft,
inaccurate metering, and improper management — is draining the country dry.
A
staggering 50 percent of Jordan’s potable water resources are lost to NRW, which costs the country hundreds of millions
of dollars in revenue annually. Most of this loss is “attributed to water theft
and malicious damage to the water networks,” Hazem Nasser, a former minister of
water and irrigation, told me.
In
recent years, water theft and shrinking water resources have forced authorities
to ration supplies. Today, public water is available only once or twice a week.
In 2021, the government even had to buy water from Israel to make up the shortfall.
Flooding the sector with grants
Given
the huge sums allocated to the water sector in recent decades in the form of
grants and loans, it is difficult to fathom why Jordan’s water infrastructure
remains in shambles, and why theft continues unabated. A May 2022 report by USAID found that old water pipes are not
replaced, and leak-detection methods are inadequate. “Many water system assets
are in poor condition, which would be a problem even under continuous supply,”
the report concluded.
International
donors — including USAID, the European Investment Bank, and Germany’s KfW
Development Bank — are trying to plug the holes with technical and financial
support. Last year, for example,
USAID gave Jordan a $22.6 million grant to reduce water loss, renovate water
networks in Amman and Zarqa, and insulate water lines.
But
while there has been some progress in improving infrastructure and reducing
water losses, challenges persist, and water theft remains rampant.
Plans on paper
On
paper, the authorities recognize the gravity of the situation. Water is a key
area of focus in Jordan’s 10-year
economic
modernization vision, an ambitious strategy launched last
year to transform the country’s economy. As part of the plan, the government
aims to reduce NRW by two percent annually, cutting it to at or below 25
percent of total losses by 2040.
Amman
also has plans to launch national desalination projects to provide a stable
water supply and create opportunities for the private sector to improve water
delivery.
For
instance, the National Water Carrier Project, expected to be completed in
four years, will deliver 300 million cubic meters of potable water annually to
the capital and surrounding areas, and potentially regions along the pipeline.
The European Investment Bank is contributing 200 million euros to that project to help the
Jordanian government with implementation.
Jordan
has also agreed to a water-for-energy deal with Israel. Under the agreement
brokered by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan will deliver 600 megawatts of
solar power to Israel, and in return, Israel will provide Jordan with 200 million
cubic meters of water every year.
Such
collaboration has angered many Jordanians, who feel that their country has
become dependent on Israel. Jordan, however, is in a critical situation. Annual
renewable
water resources in Jordan are just 64 cubic meters per person — well below the 500 cubic meters
per person that defines severe water scarcity.
A call for stricter enforcement
And
yet, mega projects alone cannot solve Jordan’s problems. Reducing water losses
from theft should be a national priority, handled with the same urgency as
other national security issues, like terrorism.
What
is needed most is aggressive enforcement of existing legal frameworks. Despite
harsh laws — illegally tapping water mains is punishable with a prison sentence
of up to five years and fines of up to $10,000 — authorities have been
reluctant to enforce them, fearful that doing so could incite public backlash.
Previous crackdowns on water theft have led to armed clashes between security forces and those engaged in
illegal well drilling.
A
recent plan by the water ministry to use drones to monitor illegal tapping of the Disi aquifer, one of the
country’s
strategic water resources, could have been more effective. But it
faced setbacks. One drone was defective and even after several drones were
later used, the ministry halted surveillance when it proved too challenging to
monitor the full 325-km pipeline connecting the aquifer to Amman.
Where there is a will, there is a
way
Jordan
is not alone in this struggle. Many countries face a future without easy access
to clean, potable water, and
climate change will only exacerbate these
challenges. Unlike many drought-stricken regions, however, Jordan’s crisis has
a blueprint for remediation. What is lacking is the will to implement.
Strengthening
infrastructure and water management must be made a priority. Theft must be
punished, and more public awareness campaigns should be launched to encourage
people to save water. School children need to understand water conversation
from an early age.
Without
water, societies, like bodies, fail to function. As Nasser told me, “Water is
everything.”
The
question is, when will Jordan’s government begin acting like it?
Suha Ma'ayeh is a journalist based in Amman. Her work has been published in Foreign Policy and CTC Sentinel. She also reports for The Wall Street Journal and other publications on Jordan and southern Syria.
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