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Water Problems in Jordan
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Water resources availability
The availability of water in any region depends to a large extent on the climate and more specifically on the distribution of rainfall in time and space. Although from the global scale water budget, it appears that there is enough fresh water to meet the demands of the human survival, both now and in the foreseeable future, however, water is often available in the wrong place, at the wrong time, or in the wrong quality. This uneven distribution is highlighted in the arid regions of the Arab countries where low rainfall is usually combined with high rates of evaporation, and hence smaller amounts of water are available for human use. |
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Increased Water Use and Demand and demographic shifting
Water shortag is becoming a global problem and the World is moving toward shortag of fresh water due to increased water use/demand. An illustrative example is the case of the Arab countries. The region, home to 5% of the world population is poorly endowed with natural freshwater supplies of less than 1% of the world's renewable fresh water.
The population, which is growing against this background of finite freshwater resources, has doubled during the past 30 years to about 280 Million. Demand due to increased urbanization, industrialization, and agriculture development has exploded in recent decades, thus further stressing existing finite resources and reducing water availability for domestic purposes.
Other source of pressure on finite water resources originate from demographic and population shifting resulting from political instability and regional conflicts.
Jordan offers a good example in this regard whereby the impact of limited water availability was exasperated by influxes of refugees during the 1948, 1967 war with Israel, and the massive inflow of almost half a million returnees after the gulf war in 1990. Hence, the per capita share of renewable water resources dropped from 3000 m3 in 1946 to its present level of 170 m3.
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Water Quality Degradation
Loss of fresh water availability may also be due to degradation in water quality.
Typical causes in the region include: contamination by fertilizers and pesticides, uncontrolled seepage from septic tanks, unregulated disposal of waste, groundwater salinization due to overexploitation and changes in surface water quality due to upstream diversions/abstractions, and increased treated wastewater effluents discharged to surface water bodies. The cumulative impact of water quality deterioration is taking a serious toll on many of the water resources in the region. Due to upstream abstractions, the total discharge of what could have been a major river in Jordan; the Jordan River, dropped from 1370 Million Cubic Meter (MCM)/year to 250-300 MCM/year, mostly as irrigation return flow, inter-catchment runoffs or saline springs diversions.
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