Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072
Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Project Number: SFP-984072
Project Co-Directors:
Mr. Haseen Khan (NPD) St. John’s Dr. Mufeed Issa Batarseh (PPD) Canada Karak Jordan Mr. Martin Goebel St. John’s Prof (Dr.) Tayel El-Hasan Canada Karak Jordan Ms. Paula Dawe St. John’s Prof (Dr.) Anwar Jireis Canada Karak Jordan Ms. Renee Paterson St. John’s Mr. Malek Yasin Al Rawashdeh Canada Amman Jordan Mr. Joe Pomeroy Dartmouth Canada
Project Plan Completion Date: September 10, 2010
Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072
Table of Contents
PAGE NUMBER 1 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE PROJECT PLAN 2 2 PARTICIPANTS 3 3 ONGOING, COMPLETED PROJECTS AND NEW PROPOSALS SUBMITTED 6 FOR FUNDING 4 BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION 7 5 CURRENT STATUS 10 6 OBJECTIVES 15 7 METHODOLOGY 15 8 PROJECT STRUCTURE AND ACTIVITIES 19 9 IMPLEMENTATION OF RESULTS 25 10 CRITERIA FOR SUCCESS 27 11 BUDGET FORECAST 28 12 AGREEMENT BY ALL PARTIES 41 13 APPENDICES 42 I. SHORT, GENERAL PRESENTATION OF PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS, 42 THEIR CAPABILITIES, RESOURCES AND FACILITIES II. BRIEF CURRICULA VITAE AND MOST SIGNIFICANT PUBLICATIONS OF 48 THE KEY PARTICIPANTS OF THE PROJECT TEAM III. WRITTEN COMMITMENT(S) FROM THE END-USER(S) OF THEIR 72 ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT IN THE PROJECT FROM THE BEGINNING AND THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION PHASE INCLUDING A DESCRIPTION OF THEIR INTEREST IN THE PROJECT’S RESULTS IV. A COPY OF THE SHORT PROPOSAL 74 V. ADRS SCHEMATIC 97 VI. A ONE PAGE DESCRIPTION OF REAL TIME WATER QUALITY MONITORING 98 IN NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR VII. POSTER FOR INTEGRATED IN-SITU AND SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS OF 99 WATER QUALITY IN LAKE MANZALAH, EGYPT VIII. INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO MONITORING FOR TRANSBOUNDARY 101 WATER GOVERNANCE IX. WATER RESOURCES IN JORDAN: A PRIMER 106
1 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072
1. List of Abbreviations used in the Project Plan
ADRS AUTOMATED DATA RETRIEVAL SYSTEM AWS AUTOMATIC WEATHER STATION CIDA CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY EC ENVIRONMENT CANADA ENVC DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION EO EARTH OBSERVATION GIS GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM GSM GLOBAL SYSTEM FOR MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS GOJ GOVERNMENT OF JORDAN GONL GOVERNMENT OF NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR IWRM INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT JD JORDANIAN DOLLAR JVA JORDAN VALLEY AUTHORITY KAC KING ABDULLAH CANAL KTR KING TALAL RESERVOIR MDC MEDITERRANEAN DIALOGUE COUNTRIES MWI MINISTRY OF WATER AND IRRIGATION MU MUTAH UNIVERSITY NATO NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANISATION NPD NATO COUNTRY PROJECT DIRECTOR PRINCE FAISAL CENTRE FOR DEAD SEA, ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY PFC-DSEER RESEARCH PPD PARTNER COUNTRY PROJECT DIRECTOR QA/QC QUALITY ASSURANCE/QUALITY CONTROL RSS ROYAL SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY RTWM REAL TIME WATER MONITORING RTWQ REAL TIME WATER QUALITY USGS UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WAJ WATER AUTHORITY OF JORDAN WQI WATER QUALITY INDEX WRMD WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT DIVISION
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2. Participants
Project Directors
Mr. Haseen Khan, P.Eng. (NPD) Director, Water Resources Management Division, Department of Environment and Conservation Government of Newfoundland And Labrador, PO Box 8700, St. John’s NL A1B 4J6 Canada
Telephone Number: 1 709 729 2535 Fax Number: 1 709 7290320 E-Mail : [email protected]
Dr. Mufeed Batarseh (PPD) Director Prince Faisal Center for Dead Sea, Environmental and Energy Research Mutah University P. O. Box 3, 61710 Karak Jordan
Telephone Number: 962 32372380 Ext. 4945 Fax Number: 962 3 239 7169 E-Mail : [email protected]
Other Principal Participants from Mediterranean Dialogue Countries
Dr. Tayel El-Hasan Professor Mutah University Faculty of Science Environmental and Energy Research Mutah 61710 Karak Jordan
Telephone Number : (962)(3)-2372380 Ex: 3219 Fax Number: (962)(3)-2375540 E-Mail : [email protected]
Dr. Anwar Jiries Professor Mutah University Faculty of Science Mutah 61710 Karak Jordan
Telephone Number : (962)(3)-2372380 Ex: 4888 Fax Number: (962)(3)-2375540 E-Mail : [email protected]
Mr. Malek Yasin Al Rawashdeh Projects Manager- Secretary General Advisor 3 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072 Ministry of Water & Irrigation PO Box 2412, Amman 11183 Jordan
Telephone Number: 962 6-5652261 Fax Number: 962 6 – 5627823 E-Mail : [email protected]
Other Principal Participants from NATO Countries
Mr. Martin Goebel Assistant Deputy Minister Department of Environment and Conservation Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, PO Box 8700, St. John’s NL A1B 4J6 Canada
Telephone Number: 1 709 729 2559 Fax Number: 1 709 729 7413 E-Mail : [email protected]
Ms. Paula Dawe Water Resources Engineer Water Resources Management Division Department of Environment and Conservation Government of Newfoundland and Labrador PO Box 8700 St. John’s NL A1B 4J6 Canada
Telephone Number: 1 709 729 4048 Fax Number: 1 709 729 0320 E-Mail : [email protected]
Ms. Renee Paterson Senior Environmental Scientist Water Resources Management Division Department of Environment and Conservation Government of Newfoundland and Labrador PO Box 8700 St. John’s NL A1B 4J6 Canada
Telephone Number: 1 709 729 1159 Fax Number: 1 709 729 0320 E-Mail : [email protected]
Mr. Joe Pomeroy Head of Monitoring and Agreements Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance Environment Canada 45 Alderney Drive Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, B2Y 2N6 Canada
Telephone Number: (902)-426-6131 Fax Number: (902) 426-6434 E-Mail : [email protected]
4 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072 End-user of the Project Results
Mr. Malek Yasin Al Rawashdeh Projects Manager- Secretary General Advisor Ministry of Water & Irrigation PO Box 2412, Amman 11183 Jordan
Telephone Number: 962 6-5652261 Fax Number: 962 6 – 5627823 E-Mail : [email protected]
Ms. Fida Jibril Royal Scientific Society Environmental Monitoring and Research Central Unit PO Box 1438 Al-Jubaiha, Amman 11942 Jordan
Telephone Number: 962 6 535 7822 Fax Number: 962 6 534 4806 Email: [email protected]
5 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072 3. Ongoing, Completed Projects and New Proposals Submitted for Funding
Ongoing Projects
Completed Projects
Project Title: Russia-Canada Cooperative Environmental Decision Making Date and Duration of Project: October 1999 (Duration 4 years) Funding Organization: CIDA Reference Number: Not Applicable Amount of Grants: US $ 5 Million Key Personnel Involved: Mr. Haseen Khan
Project Title: Satellite Monitoring of Lake Water Quality in Egypt Date and Duration of Project: November 2005 (Duration 2 years) Funding Organization: European Space Agency Reference Number: Not Applicable Amount of Grants: 100,000 Euros Key Personnel Involved: Mr. Haseen Khan
Project Title: An Environmental Security and Water Resources Management System Using Real Time Water Quality Warning and Communication Date and Duration of Project: December 2006 (Duration 2 years) Funding Organization: NATO Science for Peace Reference Number: SFP982630 Amount of Grants: 250,000 Euros Key Personnel Involved: Mr. Haseen Khan
Project Title: Study of the Canadian Experience in Water Resources Use and Protection Date and Duration of Project: November 2005 (Duration 2 years) Funding Organization: Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Reference Number: Not Applicable Amount of Grants: CD $120,200 Key Personnel Involved: Mr. Haseen Khan, Mr. Martin Goebel, Ms. Paula Dawe, Ms. Renee Paterson
6 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072
4. Background and Justification
Transboundary water governance and climate change problem to be addressed by the Project
Jordan is one of the most water stressed countries in the world in a region where water scarcity is a fact of life. Jordan shares significant transboundary surface and groundwater resources with Israel, Syria, the West Bank and Saudi Arabia (see Figure 1). These limited, and in some cases, un-renewable water resources support a multitude of strategically important water uses such as drinking water, irrigation, industry, tourism and aquatic life. The availability of adequate quality water in Jordan is only likely to deteriorate over time, and is further exacerbated by the fact that water stress is coupled with both financial stress and lack of energy resources in Jordan. Water is the single most critical natural resource in Jordan. Virtually all aspects of a sustainable economic, social, and political environment– such as economic growth, productivity, public health, the environment, a democratic and pluralistic society– depend on availability of an adequate water supply in the country.
The history, culture, current and future socio-economic status, and environmental sustainability of Jordan and its people is intricately linked with the Jordan River for which the country is named. For much of its length, the Jordan River forms the boarder between Israel, Syria and the West Bank. Water diversions within the Jordan basin by Syria, Jordan and Israel have had a major impact on the quantity, quality and ecosystem of the Jordan River. There have been numerous conflicts in the past between the countries and territory sharing the Jordan River. The over-pumping of shared groundwater aquifers is also leading to a tragedy of the commons type race to use up shared resources before a neighbour does.
The Kingdom of Jordan covers an area of 89,322 km2 in the Middle East. The population of Jordan was 6.2 million in 2008 and is expected to reach 8 million by 2024 with a current population growth rate of 2.3%. Approximately 70% of Jordan’s population lives in urban areas. In most Jordanian cities, residents receive water only sporadically, and domestic water consumption is very low (less than 100 litres/capita/day). Approximately 65 percent of water resources in Jordan are used for agriculture, 31 percent for municipal drinking water and 4 percent for industrial use. Water in Jordan is conveyed to the users through a vast network of dammed reservoirs, canals and conveyance pipelines. Wastewater and agricultural drainage water from these uses are often returned to surface water and groundwater aquifers as inflows.
The primary transboundary water governance and climate change problems to be addressed by the project is that there is an urgent need to develop a capacity in Jordan for in situ monitoring of strategic water bodies (the Jordan River and its tributaries, wadis, groundwater aquifers, wetlands, canals, pipelines and drains) and weather on a real time basis which will facilitate informed decision making by Jordan in the area of transboundary water governance and climate change. This project will have multiple benefits in that it will be relevant to NATO concerns under the three categories of Transboundary Water Governance, Climate Change and Preventing Conflicts in Relation to Scarcity of Resources. Managing water has always been about managing naturally occurring variability. Climate change threatens to make this variability greater. Water is the primary medium through which climate change influences Earth’s ecosystem and thus the livelihood and well-being of societies.
As a downstream riparian with limited resources, Jordan is in a strategically weak position to assert its water rights with its transboundary neighbors. Over the years, Jordan has seen increased withdrawals from, and pollution of, shared water resources. With diplomacy the only means available to Jordan to resolve transboundary water issues, it needs every tool available, such as real time water monitoring, to ensure transboundary water agreements are being met and that its international water rights are not being violated. In a region where water is scarce, having scientific proof of transboundary cooperation over the management of limited water resources can do much to diffuse potential sources of conflict. There is also a distinct need for remote monitoring capability within Jordan due to the fact that the rivers, such as the Jordan and Yarmouk, which form the boarder between Jordan and its neighbours to the north and west, are essentially militarized zones.
The Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI) are responsible for a water monitoring network including rainfall stations, streamflow gauging stations, evaporation stations and water level monitoring wells. In parallel with these efforts, water quality monitoring is also performed. The Royal Scientific Society also operates a network of 13 near real time water quality stations. Many of these quantity and quality stations employ outdated technology with manual collection and transfer of water data from the stations. The existing water monitoring network does not detect or report in situ conditions in real time, including any impact due to natural or anthropogenic factors such as flooding, drought, and pollution.
On completion of this project, the participating Mediterranean Dialogue Country (MDC) of Jordan, will have a comprehensive in situ Real Time Water Monitoring (RTWM) network comprised of 12 strategic sites. 3 of these sites
7 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072 will be for meteorological stations for the monitoring of weather and long term climate change and its impact on transboundary water governance. These stations will be distributed throughout the country in Mu’tah (central), Irbid (north) and Aqaba (south). 9 of the sites will be for in situ, real time water quality and quantity monitoring stations including web cameras at 3 surface water sites. These stations will be located on strategic water bodies throughout the country, including key groundwater aquifers, and will complement the existing monitoring network. Proposed sites are indicated in Figure 2 and will be installed over the three years of the project (3 water quantity and quality stations and 1 meteorological station in each year). RTWM sites are planned for Mu’tah University (meteorological), the Dead Sea, Lower Jordan River and Wadi Mijib in Year 1. RTWM sites are planned for Yarmouk University (meteorological), the Al Lajun aquifer, Yarmouk River, and Zarqa aquifer in Year 2. RTWM sites are planned for the Jordan University-Aqaba Campus (meteorological), Upper Jordan River, King Abdullah Canal, and Wadi Ma’in in Year 3. Webcams will be installed at strategic sites to monitor water level and quality due to flash floods, droughts, and other natural and anthropogenic factors.
The research identified in this project plan is needed to further develop a capacity in Jordan for remote, in situ, real time monitoring and reporting of water resources information and to develop extended water resources applications from the data that is produced from such a network. One application that will be piloted as part of this project is that of automatic reporting to a RTWM user web site. Users will be able to access the web site and view real time graphical representations of meteorological, water quality and quantity data. Any deviation from normal conditions can be monitored as they happen, triggering mitigation, regulatory, enforcement or other measures. Webcam views will also be shared through the web site.
While water quality data is currently collected on a regular basis in Jordan, appropriate communication tools do not exist that convert the raw water quality data into information and then knowledge. This does not allow the reporting of suitability of water bodies for a variety of uses. The conversion of raw water quality data into information and then knowledge is a core component of water resources management and is critical for effective decision making by executive, politicians and the general public. The establishment of a local Jordanian real time water monitoring control centre will help provide this. The Jordanian water monitoring control centre will provide a means of real time reporting on the suitability of water in Jordan for various beneficial uses. This ability to reduce complex water quality information to a simple visual product that can be used by decision makers such as senior management, military personnel and politicians will improve their ability to participate in transboundary water governance.
Another application that will be piloted in Jordan as part of this project is the extrapolation of RTWM data to predict levels of secondary parameters not monitored by the network in real time. For example, conductivity measured in real time can be used to predict the levels of secondary parameters such as major ions (sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, chloride, etc.); and turbidity can be used to predict E.coli. Such an application can extend the scope of the original network for extended monitoring and reporting. This work will be dependent on the existence of co-located grab sampling and analysis undertaken by in-country partner organizations. The ability to predict additional water quality parameters using mathematical relationships based on real time data and grab sample data will expand the range of real time monitoring capability.
Conventional water quality monitoring programs rely on data specific to the time and place the sample was collected. A further application will look to integrate real time water monitoring with Earth Observation (EO) to allow for more comprehensive capture of spatial and temporal variability in highly dynamic ecosystems and the consequent impacts on water quantity and quality parameters. The collection of high resolution remote sensing data for land and waterbody assessment in watershed management can help in characterizing the watershed and identifying land use activities that may be affecting water quality and quantity. The ability to identify potential sources of water contamination through remote sensing allows for the implementation of possible control measures and best management practices in order to reduce the risk posed by these activities.
The project will transform the water resources monitoring and reporting system that is currently in place to a holistic approach that will encompass all aspects of integrated water resources management from data collection, reporting, response, mitigation and management. This holistic approach will give Jordan the ability to pro-actively participate in transboundary water governance meetings with its neighbours, and to assess the impact of climate change on its scarce water resources. The information gap will have adverse socio-economic and environmental implications. At the end of the project, Jordan will have developed the capacity to extent this monitoring network to other sites to monitor in real time its strategic water bodies. The use of remote sensing tools for water management will also allow for more comprehensive spatial and temporal monitoring.
Improved water management in one country in a volatile region sharing multiple highly stressed transboundary water resources can help reduce tension and assist in fostering improved cooperation between countries. Countries that do not cooperate in any other area can still manage to cooperate over the management of transboundary waters, and typically the gathering and sharing of data is a first step towards this goal. Watershed management actions taken by one country to improve water quality in a shared river basin can also foster good will and further cooperation, especially given the limited availability of water in the region.
8 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072 Appendix IX provides a comprehensive overview of the water resources of Jordan.
Figure 1: Water Resources in Jordan
9 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072
Figure 2: Proposed RTWM Sites
The science or technology to be developed and applied
This project will entail the integration of advanced, pre-existing monitoring technologies in a methodology that will achieve the intended goals of improved water governance and environmental security in Jordan. In situ, real time water monitoring stations will be established as an integrated network on key water resources including key groundwater aquifers. Data collected from the network will include meteorological, water quantity and water quality data that can be used for early detection, to establish long term trends, to communicate water resources information to stakeholders through the use of the Internet, and for advanced extended water resources applications.
Data produced from the network will be used for transboundary water governance, climate change assessment, and to predict levels of other parameters not monitored in real time. Data provided by the real time monitoring network can also be integrated with remote sensing technology to produce water quality-land use assessment Earth Observation (EO) imagery for watershed management and risk assessment. With the integrated tools and methods developed, a multi- barrier approach to water resources protection, planning and management can be utilized by decision makers.
All science and technology applied as part of the project will be developed for Jordanian conditions. This would be an innovative approach to Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) that is currently non existent in many MDC.
5. Current Status
Status of related R&D activity in the Mediterranean Dialogue country and world-wide
In the Mediterranean Dialogue Country (MDC) of Jordan, the MWI and RSS have extensive experience with conventional and somewhat outdated (manual) water resources monitoring. Existing stations monitor water quality, quantity and meteorological parameters. This sampling approach is comprehensive but does not provide the data at the desired frequency and the quality and accuracy of the data is questionable. It further does not allow the integration of this data for an integrated water resources management approach. To realise the full benefits of real time water monitoring it is important to adopt a holistic approach that integrates RTWQ monitoring with early warning, response, mitigation, reporting, and other analysis tools.
Jordan has approximately 30 weather stations employing outdated technology, half of which are currently defunct and remaining are manually operated with serious issues about the reliability and quality of data. Additionally, there 10 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072 is no centralized database for the collected data. Figure 3 outlines the location of working weather stations.
Figure 3: Weather Stations in Jordan
The monitoring of groundwater and surface water quantity and quality is undertaken on ad hoc basis without any established index network and centralized database.
In addition to ad hoc monitoring stations, the MWI and RSS have also installed telemetry monitoring stations as part of two pilot projects. 5 monitoring water quality monitoring stations were installed with Norwegian aid and belong to the MWI; however, these stations are now out of service. The RSS runs a network of 13 water quality only telemetry monitoring stations on strategic surface water bodies in the north of Jordan. These stations were installed in 2002 with Japanese aid. These stations are not in situ, however, they do monitor pH, conductivity, total phosphorous, total nitrogen and COD, but not dissolved oxygen. There is no provision for flow monitoring at these stations, and this is considered to be major gap from the water resources management perspective. A map of the RSS real time water quality monitoring network can be found in Figure 4. The technology used to set up these stations is obsolete and outdated.
11 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072
Figure 4: RSS Telemetry Monitoring Stations
The name and location of these stations is listed in Table 1.
Table 1: Telemetry Monitoring Stations Code Station M1 Yarmouk River, Wadi Khalid M2 King Abdulla Canal (KAC)/North End-Tunnel Outlet M3 King Abdulla Canal (KAC)/Tiberias Conveyor Outlet M4 King Abdulla Canal (KAC)/Wadi Arab Dam Pumping Station 12 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072 M5 King Abdulla Canal (KAC)/Deir Alla Intake M6 King Abdulla Canal (KAC)/Zarqa River Junction point M7 King Abdulla Canal (KAC)/Karameh Dam Turn-out M8 Zarqa River/Al-Hashimyah Bridge M9 Zarqa River/Tawahin Al-Odwan Bridge M10 Zarqa River/King Talal Reservoir (KTR) Inlet M11 Zarqa River/King Talal Reservoir (KTR) Outlet M12 Jordan River/Majame Bridge M13 Jordan River/King Hussein Bridge
Internationally, real time water monitoring has been in use for a couple of decades but the data was normally analysed in a batch mode after it was downloaded from a data logger, thereby losing some of the primary benefits of monitoring on a real time basis. The technology has only recently come to fruition with the availability of a wide variety of cheaper in-situ water quality sensors, new means to transmit the data (e.g. cellular, satellite phone and communication satellites) and the evolution of the internet. With these components it is now possible to collect monitor, analyse and report data in real time. With real time reporting comes the ability to respond to water quality and quantity events in real time.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has the most extensive RTWQ network in the world but the USGS has not integrated RTWQ monitoring with other water resources management and communication tools to create an integrated system for water resources management. The USGS has also pioneered the use of real time water quality data to predict secondary parameters not being monitored.
In Canada, the Water Resources Management Division (WRMD) of the Department of Environment and Conservation (ENVC), Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, was the first jurisdiction to use RTWQ monitoring as a water resources management tool and has integrated RTWQ with Water Quality Indices and early warning to create a multi-faceted system for water quality monitoring and reporting that is inherently proactive.
Earth Observation (EO) is a well established technology, however, its use in water resources management has only recently been exploited in a more holistic manner. The quantity and quality of EO systems and their uses continues to expand from the straightforward provision of information such as land use changes, to integration with real time monitoring networks to provide special observations at a large scale and temporal information at increased monitoring frequency. In Canada, ENVC has been a world innovator in the production of integrated real time water monitoring and EO water management tools (see Appendix VII & VIII).
Knowledge existing in the group(s) which will work on the Project
WRMD
The WRMD resources (Mr. Haseen Khan, Mr. Martin Goebel, Ms. Paula Dawe, Ms. Renee Paterson) are known nationally and internationally for their expertise in real time water quality monitoring, water quality indices, watershed management, Earth Observation and the use of these tools in Integrated Water Resource Management. Mr. Haseen Khan is a recipient of the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Service Award of Excellence for his use of innovation in water resources management.
Under Mr. Khan’s leadership, the WRMD was the first provincial agency in Canada to set up a real time water quality network for early detection and now the project is being replicated on a national level by Environment Canada. The WRMD operates an extensive network of over 60 Real Time hydrometric stations and 25 Real Time Water Quality stations. A distinguishing feature of this network is that all data is made available to the public through the department’s web page within three hours of its being collected by the water quality probes through an in house developed Automatic Data Retrieval System (ADRS). A schematic of the ADRS has been attached as item V in the appendix.
The WRMD has been involved in the development and application of advanced tools for environmental security for the last 15 years. Successfully developed tools include an in house developed ADRS for real time hydrometric and water quality data, several water quality index (WQI) calculators, the first early water quality incident detection system for mining projects in Canada (real time water quality network installation at Voisey Bay Nickel Mine), extrapolation of real time data to secondary parameters, and watershed management plans. A one-page fact sheet on real time water quality monitoring in Newfoundland and Labrador has been attached as item VI in the appendix.
The WRMD also has considerable experience with the use of Earth Observation systems and data in the development 13 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072 of watershed buffer zone maps, watershed risk mapping, digital elevation models, slope stability mapping, groundwater quality risk mapping, flood risk mapping, water infrastructure and monitoring network location mapping, river ice monitoring, snowcover mapping, wetland mapping, sewage outfall plume monitoring, land use changes, land cover changes, water quality monitoring products, pollution source detection, web based GIS applications, etc. The WRMD has been one of the first organizations to integrate EO monitoring with RTWQ networks to generate enhanced water monitoring products.
The Environment Canada (EC) resources, Mr. Joe Pomeroy has 15 years of experience in establishing and overseeing water quantity and quality monitoring programs using state of art technology. Mr. Pomeroy is also an expert in Earth Observation technology.
Mutah University– Prince Faisal Center for Dead Sea, Environmental and Energy Research (PFC-DSEER)
The Mutah University (MU) resources, Dr. Mufeed Batarseh, Dr. Tayel El-Hasan and Dr. Anwar Jireis, have extensive environmental monitoring, analysis and modeling experience. The PFC-DSEER conducts and coordinates Dead Sea, environmental, and water research and related activities on Mutah University campus. With primary emphasis placed on Dead Sea critical problems, PFC-DSEER programs expand to encompass national and international water and environmental issues of common concern. PFC-DSEER is a nationally and internationally recognized Center of excellence, with programs incorporating research, education and service directed toward solutions to Dead Sea, environmental and energy problems in different areas. In addition, the Center serves regional and country-wide educational and management needs for access to related research facilities.
Dr. Mufeed Batarseh is the Director of the PFC-DSEER and has been involved with the development of previous NATO Science for Peace project proposals. Dr. Batarseh is an expert in environmental chemistry and advanced analysis techniques. Dr. Tayel El-Hasan is a professor with the Faculty of Science at Mutah University. Dr. El Hasan is an expert in geology, geochemistry and environmental science. Dr. Anwar Jireis is also a professor with the Faculty of Science at Mutah University. Dr. Jireis is an expert in hydrogeology, water quality assessment and environmental science.
Ministry of Water and Irrigation
The Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI) is the main body responsible for the management of water resources in Jordan. The MWI was created in 1988 bringing the Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ) and the Jordan Valley Authority (JVA) under one umbrella. MWI, WAJ and JVA each has an independent Secretary General who reports directly to the Minister of Water and Irrigation. The Ministry does not have authorizing Parliamentary legislation, but operates under a set of bylaws approved by the executive branch.
Mr. Malek Yasin Al Rawashdeh works as a project engineer for the MWI and has extensive knowledge of the management of water resources in Jordan.
Additional Facilities and Expertise Needed to Execute the Project According to the Project Plan.
For the set up of the first phase of RTWM stations, the project will avail of the services of an instrumentation expert for a period of 5 days to assist with any maintenance problems that might arise from instrument damage during transportation to Jordan and any site specific instrumentation adaptation needs. A communications and data logger expert will also be involved in the first or second phase station set up. These experts will assist in the delivery of hands on training sessions to be delivered in Jordan, and may assist with the delivery of training sessions to be delivered in Canada. Additional expertise will be brought into the project from within the WRMD as needed. The following is a list of identified potential experts who may be involved in the project:
• Kanaiya Naik- Instrumentation Expert- Hach • Joel Wright- Instrumentation Expert- Hach • Dave Allan- Instrumentation Expert- Allen Consulting • Richard Laffin- Communications/Datalogger Expert- Campbell Scientific • Ryan Pugh- Instrumentation/Communications Expert- WRMD • Keith Abbott- EO Expert- WRMD • Shibly Rahman- Database/Statistics Expert- WRMD • Tara Clinton- Instrumentation Expert- WRMD • Kyla Brake- Data Analysis and Reporting Expert- WRMD • Grace Gillis- Instrumentation Expert- WRMD 14 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072 • Leona Hyde- Communication Expert- WRMD
6. Objectives
The country of Jordan is located along side one of the most culturally significant bodies of water on Earth. It is also located in one of the most water stressed, politically sensitive, and volatile regions on the Planet with neighbours such as Syria, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the Palestinian West Bank. Water resources in Jordan are under severe pressure as a result of climate change, drought, water withdrawals and pollution. The main objective of the project is to develop a data collection capability for transboundary water governance, climate change assessment, and to detect and predict adverse changes in water quantity and quality in real time allowing for pro-active management of Jordanian water resources. This research will have multiple benefits in that it will be relevant to NATO concerns under the three categories of Transboundary Water Governance, Climate Change, and Preventing Conflicts in Relation to Scarcity of Resources.
Specific objectives of the project will include:
1. Establish a twelve station Real Time Water Monitoring (RTWM) network including quantity/quality stations, automatic weather stations, and webcam stations. A central command centre will be established, with a capability to store and manage collected data and to use this data for water resources management considering transboundary water governance and climate change.
2. Develop advanced extended water resources applications using data produced from the RTWM network for use in integrated water resources management in Jordan. Extended water resources applications will include: i) Water Database for Transboundary Water Governance, ii) Climate Database for Climate Change Assessment, iii) Application for the Prediction of Secondary Parameters, and iv) integrated RTWM and EO tools.
3. Training of young scientists in the end user organizations to develop a capacity in Jordan to: i) install and operate additional RTWM stations to monitor strategic water bodies throughout the country; and ii) use the derived information and knowledge for integrated water resources management.
7. Methodology The project implementation methodology will consist of the following steps:
1. Project Mobilization (Activity Start: Project Start + 0 months)
The project mobilisation will consist of: briefing of project team; purchase of instrumentation, software and consumables; construction and installation of shelters at the selected monitoring sites; set up of communications to the sites; set up of water quality laboratory at the PFC-DSEER for calibrating the automated water quality instruments (Hydrolab Datasonde); set up of the Control Room Centre; and set up of a webpage that will report on the activities under the project. The set up of the Control Room Centre will include the installation of phone lines, network connection for internet access and uninterrupted power supply units. Continuous communication will ensure coordination between the PPD and NPD teams.
2. Project Meeting Number 1– Canada; Young Scientist Training on Setting Up, Calibrating and Maintaining RTWM Stations and Dataloggers ( Activity Start: Project Start + 3 months)
There will be three young scientists from Jordan who will be devoting 100 % of their time to this project. These young scientists will receive a monthly stipend of Eur 100 per month. As a part of project mobilization, three young scientists from Jordan will travel to St. John’s, Canada for 5 day hands-on training on: installation, calibration, maintenance and operation of Hydrolab Datasondes; data logger programming; flow measurement; installation, calibration, maintenance and operation of weather station; set up, operation and maintenance of ADRS; and development of on-line RTWQ reporting system. They shall be accompanied by the PPD and a project co-director for a project coordination meeting and a visit of RTWM facilities in St. John’s. If possible this trip will try to coincide with the 3rd National Real Time Water Quality Monitoring Workshop held in St. John’s in June of 2011.
15 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072 3. Project Meeting Number 2– Jordan; Year 1 RTWM Station Set Up; Young Scientist Training on Setting Up, Calibrating and Maintaining RTWM Stations and Dataloggers; First Progress Report (Activity Start: Project Start + 6 months)
Under the direction of the NATO country team (Mr. Haseen Khan, Renee Paterson, Ryan Pugh) and the RTWM instrumentation/communication expert, the Jordanian young scientists will assist in setting up the Year 1 RTWM stations as indicted in Figure 2. The 3 quantity/quality stations, 1 automatic weather station and 1 webcam station will be made operational and a link will be established with the command center. The Hydrolab datasondes will monitor water level and seven water quality parameters (water temperature, pH, conductivity, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen). A weather station will also be set up at Mutah University to monitor precipitation, relative humidity, solar radiation, wind speed, wind direction and air temperature. The ADRS will be set up to receive data from the RTWQ stations using either a phone line or cellular GSM phone connection at the control room from the datasondes and the weather station. The Ministry of Water and Irrigation measures water levels and flow at several sites. The water levels measured by the Hydrolab datasondes will be correlated to the levels measured by the Water Resources and Irrigation to determine flow.
In addition to the three young scientists from Jordan who will be devoting 100 % of their time to this project, an additional seven young scientists will be devoting 50 % of their time to this project. These seven young scientists will receive all of their training in Jordan. Young Scientist training opportunities will precede every major component of the project. The general approach to be taken will be that Jordanian young scientists will be trained and then the task will be completed by them under the direction of the NATO country team.
The set up of the stations will be preceded by a three day hands on young scientist training on “Setting Up, Calibrating and Maintaining RTWM Stations and Dataloggers” to train the 10 Jordanian young scientists (3 working 100 % of their time and 7 working at 50% of their time) working on the project. This training will be open to other scientists at the MWI, RSS and Mutah University, in addition to the participants of the teams of Project Co-Directors from the Mediterranean Dialogue country.
Data collection for the extended water resources applications will commence at this time. Grab sample water quality data for the prediction of secondary parameters will be coordinated with partners and existing sampling programs. EO data collection will be refined to user needs at this time to define temporal or spatial criteria. Commencement on the methodology to develop applications will begin.
This opportunity will also be used to have the second project meeting. The first Progress Report will also be completed at this time.
4. Operation of RTWM Stations and Control Center (Activity Start: Project Start + 6 months)
Under the direction of the NATO country team and the RTWQ instrumentation/communication expert, the Jordanian young scientists will operate the ADRS to retrieve data from the datasondes, weather stations and webcams on 15 minute to 1 hour intervals. A program will be set up to regularly calibrate the datasondes with an aim to optimize the calibration schedule. A parallel water quality grab sampling program will be initiated for the quality control of the RTWQ monitoring program. These water quality samples will be analyzed for a full physical-chemical suite of 30-35 parameters. The RTWQ data retrieved by the ARDS will be corrected for sensor drift and monthly summary reports will be prepared. Water resources data uploaded to the project website for stakeholders will be reviewed on a daily basis.
5. Second Progress Report (Activity Start: Project Start + 12 months)
The second Progress Report will be completed at this time.
6. Project Meeting Number 3– Canada; Young Scientist Training on RTWM Reporting and Extended Water Resources Applications (Activity Start: Project Start + 18 months)
Three Young Scientists will travel to St. John’s, Canada for 5 days hands-on training on: database development; QA/QC procedures; data correction; development of standardized reporting; water quality statistics; depth to flow conversion; RTWM trouble shooting; development of water quality prediction equations using regression analysis; secondary parameter reporting; and EO analysis and product generation. They shall be accompanied by two MDC co-directors for a project coordination meeting and a visit of RTWQ monitoring facilities in St. John’s.
On reviewing the performance of the Year 1 stations the purchase of equipment for the Year 2 stations will be initiated.
16 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072 7. Project Meeting Number 4– Jordan; Year 2 RTWM Station Set Up; Young Scientist Training on RTWM Reporting and Extended Water Resources Applications; Third Progress Report (Activity Start: Project Start + 18 months)
Under the direction of the NATO country team (Renee Paterson, Paula Dawe, Joe Pomeroy) and the RTWM instrumentation/communication expert, the Jordanian young scientists will assist in setting up the Year 2 RTWM stations as indicted in Figure 2. The 3 quantity/quality stations, 1 automatic weather station and 1 webcam station will be made operational and a link will be established with the command center. The weather station will be located in association with a university in the north of Jordan (Yarmouk University).
When the NATO country team travels to Jordan for the second project meeting and the set up of Year 2 sites, a three day training workshop on RTWM reporting and extended water resources applications will be organized to train the 10 Jordanian young scientists working on the project. This training will be open to other scientists at the MWI, RSS and Mutah University, in addition to the participants of the teams of Project Co-Directors from the Mediterranean Dialogue country. The three day training will include a one day stakeholder workshop with Jordanian young scientists and water quality experts to present the methodology of the secondary parameter extrapolation application and EO application, and to document the feedback from Jordanian stakeholders.
This opportunity will also be used to have the fourth project meeting. The third Progress Report will also be completed at this time.
8. Development of Water Database (Activity Start: Project Start + 21 months)
Under the direction of the NATO country team, the Jordanian young scientists will develop and implement a Water Database for Transboundary Water Governance. This database will include data retrieved at the Control Centre for quantity/quality stations and will be stored in a Microsoft Access database that will be used for data correction and for technical reports.
9. Development of Extended Water Resources Applications; Development of Climate Database; Fourth Progress Report (Activity Start: Project Start + 24 months)
Development of water quality prediction equations for existing RTWM sites in Jordan will commence after an extended period of data collection and methodology finalization. On collection of approximately 18 grab samples, under the direction of the NATO country team, the grab sample water quality data will be regressed against corresponding real time data to develop mathematical relationships between the real time measured water quality parameters and those measured in the grab sample by the laboratory. These mathematical relationships will be used to predict in real time water quality of secondary parameters based on the readings from the datasonde. The analysis will be unique for each site.
Development on an integrated RTWM-EO product will similarly commence after an extended period of data collection, feedback from Jordanian stakeholders and methodology finalization.
Under the direction of the NATO country team, the Jordanian young scientists will develop and implement a Climate Database for Climate Change Assessment. This database will include data retrieved at the Control Centre for automatic weather stations and will be stored in a Microsoft Access database that will be used for data correction and for technical reports.
The fourth progress report will also be completed at this time.
10. Project Meeting Number 5– Jordan; Year 3 RTWM Station Set Up; Online Reporting for Predicted Parameters; RTWM Manual; Training on Extended Water Resources Applications (Activity Start: Project Start + 27 months)
Under the direction of the NATO country team (Martin Geobel, Renee Paterson), the Jordanian young scientists will assist in setting up the Year 3 RTWM stations as indicted in Figure 2. The 3 quantity/quality stations, 1 automatic weather station and 1 webcam station will be made operational and a link will be established with the command center. The weather station will be located in association with a university in the south of Jordan. We may set up one auto water quality sampler at one of the critical stations subject to the availability of funds in the project budget.
The developed secondary parameter prediction equations will be incorporated into the stakeholder reporting website for stations for which they have been developed.
17 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072 A RTWM Technical Specifications Manual will be developed for quantity/quality stations, automatic weather stations and webcam stations. This manual will cover all aspects of set up, operation and maintenance of such stations. The manual will also document QA/QC procedures for data processing and reporting.
A one day training session on “Extended Water Resources Applications” will be organized for the 10 Jordanian young scientists working on the project. This training will be open to other scientists at the MWI, RSS and Mutah University, in addition to the participants of the teams of Project Co-Directors from the Mediterranean Dialogue country.
This opportunity will also be used to have the fourth project meeting.
11. Development of Manuals and Plans; Fifth Progress Report (Activity Start: Project Start + 30 months)
The following manuals will also be developed as part of this project: RTWM Secondary Parameters Prediction Manual, and EO Application Manual. These manuals will provide guidance to Jordanian counterparts on the use of extended water resources applications for data management and reporting and to use the derived information and knowledge for integrated water resources management.
The Jordanian young scientists will also develop a Network Sustainability Plan for extended operation of the RTWM monitoring stations at these sites. The plan will include stakeholder roles and responsibilities for various key activities such as operation, maintenance, calibration and reporting.
The fifth progress report will also be completed at this time.
12. Conference Presentation and Project Meeting Number 6 (Activity Start: Project Start + 33 months)
PPD Dr. Mufeed Batarseh, and Project Coordinators from the PPD will travel to St. John’s, Canada for the sixth project coordination meeting.
One of PPD project member will present the results of the project at a Canadian Water Resources Association conference in 2013.
13. Conference Presentation (Activity Start: Project Start + 36 months)
A PPD Team Co-director and NPD Team Co-director will jointly present the results of the project at an international conference yet to be determined. This opportunity will be used to have an informal project coordination meeting.
14. Project Wrap Up Meeting and Final Project Report (Activity Start: Project Start + 36 months)
PPD Dr. Mufeed Batarseh will travel to St. John’s, Canada for the project wrap up meeting and the completion of the Network Sustainability Plan. The final project report will also be completed.
15. Other Conference Presentations
To promote information exchange, the ongoing activities of the SfP Project will be presented at:
• 6 international conferences: o Year 1 3rd National Real Time Water Quality Monitoring Workshop - St. John’s – June, 2011 o Year 2 2 conferences- TBD o Year 3 2 conferences- TBD Canadian Water Resources Association Conference- June 2013 • 2 regional/local conferences: o Year 2 1 conference- TBD o Year 3 1 conference- TBD
The exact dates and venues of the conferences will be decided during the course of the project.
18 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072
19 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072
20 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072
Formatted: Bullets and Numbering a. Organization and Management
NAME OF AFFILIATION POSITION TASK IN THE PROJECT PARTICIPANT, (INSTITUTION, ) LOCATION COMPANY)
(CITY, COUNTRY)
. O HER TIME / N ROJECT P OF HIS NVOLVEMENT IN THE NVOLVEMENT (% I ARTICIPANT P
1 PPD DR. MUFEED MUTAH DIRECTOR 30% PPD; COORDINATE OPERATIONAL AND IMPLEMENTATION BATARSEH (KARAK, UNIVERSITY, ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT; COORDINATE YOUNG JORDAN) PRINCE FAISAL SCIENTISTS; INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE CENTER FOR MANAGEMENT; DEVELOPMENT OF NETWORK DEAD SEA, SUSTAINABILITY PLAN; PARTICIPATION IN REGULAR ENVIRONMENTAL COORDINATION MEETINGS; REVIEW RTWM REPORTS; AND ENERGY REGULAR VISITS TO THE SITES IN JORDAN; REGULAR VISITS RESEARCH TO THE WRMD IN ST. JOHN’S, CANADA; PARTICIPATE IN LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION EXCHANGE SESSIONS ON PROJECT (CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS, NATO EXPERT PANEL MEETINGS ETC) ; OPERATE CONTROL CENTRE; SUPERVISE RTWM REPORTS; DEVELOPMENT OF NETWORK SUSTAINABILITY PLAN 2 DR. TAYEL EL- MUTAH PROFESSOR 20% SET UP OF RTWM MONITORING NETWORK AND CONTROL HASAN (KARAK, UNIVERSITY CENTRE; DEVELOPMENT OF RTWM QA/QC PROGRAM; JORDAN) PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON EXTENDED WATER RESOURCES APPLICATIONS; SET UP OF ON LINE RTWM REPORTING; OBTAIN RTWM TRAINING IN ST. JOHN’S, CANADA; IMPART TRAINING TO OTHER YOUNG SCIENTISTS IN JORDAN; DEVELOPMENT OF MANUALS; REGULAR VISITS TO THE WRMD IN ST. JOHN’S, CANADA; PARTICIPATE IN LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION EXCHANGE SESSIONS ON PROJECT (CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS, ETC) 3 DR. ANWAR JIREIS MUTAH PROFESSOR 15% SET UP OF RTWM MONITORING NETWORK AND CONTROL (KARAK, JORDAN) UNIVERSITY CENTRE; ANALYSIS OF RTWQ DATA; REVIEW RTWM REPORTS AND WATER QUALITY DATA; DEVELOPMENT OF RTWM TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION MANUAL; PARTICIPATE IN LOCAL INFORMATION EXCHANGE SESSIONS ON PROJECT (CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS, ETC); VISIT THE WRMD IN ST. JOHN’S FOR PROJECT COORDINATION. 4 MR. MALEK YASIN MINISTRY OF PROJECTS 10% SET UP OF RTWM MONITORING NETWORK, WEATHER AL RAWASHDEH WATER AND MANAGER STATION, AND CONTROL CENTRE; OPERATE CONTROL (AMMAN, JORDAN) IRRIGATION CENTRE; RTWM CALIBRATION; PERFORM RTWM DATA QA/QC; WATER QUALITY SAMPLING; OBTAIN RTWM TRAINING IN ST. JOHN’S 5 MR.JWAIED AL- MUTAH IT ANALYST 100% SET UP OF RTWQ MONITORING NETWORK, WEATHER SARAYREH UNIVERSITY /YOUNG SCIENTIST STATION, AND CONTROL CENTRE; OPERATE CONTROL CENTRE; PERFORM RTWQ DATA QA/QC; OBTAIN RTWQ TRAINING IN ST. JOHN’S; DEVELOP WATER AND CLIMATE DATABASES; DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN PROJECT WEB SITE; TROUBLESHOOT COMMUNICATIONS 6 Ms. Suha AL- PFC-DSEER 100% RTWM STATION SET UP; ANALYSIS OF RTWQ DATA; Dmour CHEMICAL PREPARATION AND REVIEW RTWM REPORTS AND WATER ENGINEER/YOUNG QUALITY DATA; CALIBRATION OF INSTRUMENTS; TESTING SCIENTIST AND CUSTOMIZATION OF EO TOOL; DEVELOPMENT OF SECONDARY PARAMETERS PREDICTION APPLICATION; ATTEND TRAINING; RTWM TROUBLE SHOOTING AND ADVANCED DATA QA/QC TECHNIQUES 7 Mr. Ehab Al-Quran WATER WATER 100% RTWM STATION SET UP; ANALYSIS OF RTWQ DATA; AUTHORITY OF RESOURCES & PREPARATION AND REVIEW RTWM REPORTS AND WATER JORDAN (WAJ) ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY DATA; CALIBRATION OF INSTRUMENTS; TESTING ENGINEER/YOUNG AND CUSTOMIZATION OF EO TOOL; DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENTIST SECONDARY PARAMETERS PREDICTION APPLICATION; ATTEND TRAINING; RTWM TROUBLE SHOOTING AND ADVANCED DATA QA/QC TECHNIQUES 8 MR. HASEEN KHAN WATER DIRECTOR 15% NPD; DEVELOPING THE REAL TIME WATER QUALITY (ST. JOHN’S, RESOURCES (RTWQ) MONITORING CAPABILITY AND ITS INTEGRATION CANADA) MANAGEMENT WITH EXTENDED WATER RESOURCES APPLICATIONS; DIVISION, COORDINATE SET UP OF RTWQ MONITORING NETWORK; GOVERNMENT OF INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT TRAINING NEWFOUNDLAND OF YOUNG SCIENTISTS; COORDINATE DEVELOPMENT OF AND LABRADOR RTWM TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION MANUAL, AND NETWORK SUSTAINABILITY PLAN; REVIEW RTWM 21 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072 REPORTS; PARTICIPATION IN REGULAR COORDINATION MEETINGS; VISITS TO THE INSTITUTES AND SITES IN JORDAN; PARTICIPATE IN LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION EXCHANGE SESSIONS ON PROJECT (CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS NATO EXPERT PANEL MEETINGS, ETC). 9 MR. MARTIN DEPARTMENT OF ASSISTANT DEPUTY 5% TRAINING OF YOUNG SCIENTISTS; VISITS TO THE INSTITUTES GOEBEL ENVIRONMENT MINISTER AND SITES IN JORDAN; PARTICIPATE IN LOCAL AND (ST. JOHN’S, AND INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION EXCHANGE SESSIONS ON CANADA) CONSERVATION, PROJECT (CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS ETC). GOVERNMENT OF NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR 10 MR. JOE POMEROY WATER SURVEY EXECUTIVE 10% COORDINATE SET UP OF RTWQ MONITORING NETWORK;; (HALIFAX, CANADA) OF CANADA, DIRECTOR DIRECT THE SETTING UP OF THE WIRELESS GSM NETWORK ENVIRONMENT LINK TO CENTRAL CONTROL ROOM/EMERGENCY RESPONSE CANADA CENTRE; RTWM TRAINING OF YOUNG SCIENTISTS; REGULAR VISITS TO THE INSTITUTES AND SITES IN JORDAN; DEVELOPMENT OF EO APPLICATIONS 11 MS. PAULA DAWE WATER WATER 15% ESTABLISH RTWM NETWORK; TRAINING OF YOUNG (ST. JOHN’S, RESOURCES RESOURCES SCIETISTS; COORDINATION OF EXTENDED WATER CANADA) MANAGEMENT ENGINEER RESOURCES APPLICATIONS; WRITING OF PROGRESS DIVISION, REPORTS AND FINAL REPORT; VISITS TO THE INSTITUTES GOVERNMENT OF AND SITES IN JORDAN; PARTICIPATE IN LOCAL AND NEWFOUNDLAND INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION EXCHANGE SESSIONS ON AND LABRADOR PROJECT (CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS ETC). 12 MS. RENEE WATER SENIOR 15% ESTABLISH RTWM NETWORK; TRAINING OF YOUNG PATERSON (ST. RESOURCES ENVIRONMENTAL SCIETISTS; COORDINATION OF EXTENDED WATER JOHN’S, CANADA) MANAGEMENT SCIENTIST RESOURCES APPLICATIONS; WRITING OF PROGRESS DIVISION, REPORTS AND FINAL REPORT; VISITS TO THE INSTITUTES GOVERNMENT OF AND SITES IN JORDAN; PARTICIPATE IN LOCAL AND NEWFOUNDLAND INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION EXCHANGE SESSIONS ON AND LABRADOR PROJECT (CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS ETC).
Note: Seven other young scientists will also work on the project. Their involvement on the project will be 50% of their time and they will get all of their training in Jordan. Their task will include: analysis of RTWM data; Review monthly RTWM reports and water quality data; operation, maintenance and calibration of sensors; collection of grab samples. These seven young scientists will not be paid a monthly stipend. Resumes for all young scientists can be found in Appendix II.
22 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072 Overall Managerial Organization of the Project
NATO SFP
Department of Environment and Mutah University Conservation (MU) (ENVC)
NPD PPD Mr. Haseen Khan Coordination Dr. Mufeed Matarseh ENVC Meetings MU, PFC-DSEER
NATO Country Project Partner Country Project Co-Director Co-Director Mr. Martin Goebel Dr. Tayel El-Hasan ENVC MU
NATO Country Project Partner Country Project Co-Director Co-Director Ms. Paula Dawe Dr. Anwar Jireis ENVC MU
Partner Country Project Co-Director NATO Country Project 3 Young Scientists Co-Director Mr. Malek Yasin Al from MWI & MU Ms. Renee Paterson Rawashdeh ENVC MWI (to be trained in Canada and Jordan)
NATO Country Project 3 Young Scientists 4 Young Scientists Co-Director from MWI & RSS from MU
Mr. Joe Pomeroy (to be trained in Environment Canada (to be trained in Jordan only) Jordan only)
Ministry of Water and Irrigation
Royal Scientific Society
23 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072
8.3 Training, Travel and Experts/Advisors
A plan for providing training opportunities to participants of the teams of Project Co-Directors from the Partner or Mediterranean Dialogue country
The following training opportunities will be made available for participants of the teams of Project Co-Directors from the Mediterranean Dialogue country. The focus of these training will be young scientists and engineers. This training is consistent with item c) of the budget tables in Annex 5a.
NAME OF TRAINING , DATE/DURATION PARTICIPANTS
ITY OF TRAINING (C )
PPORTUNITY PPORTUNITY UMBER OUNTRY RAINING RAINING OF OCATION RAINING T O N L T C
1 YOUNG SCIENTIST TRAINING ON ST. JOHN’S, PROJECT START + 3 YOUNG SCIENTISTS: SETTING UP, CALIBRADING AND CANADA MONTHS/ 5 DAYS MAINTAINING RTWM STATIONS 1. MR.JWAIED AL-SARAYREH AND DATALOGGERS 2. MS. SUHA AL DMOU 3. MR. EHAB AL QURAN
CO-DIRECTOR: DR. MUFEED BATARSEH DR. TAYEL EL-HASAN
2 YOUNG SCIENTIST TRAINING ON KARAK, PROJECT START + 6 YOUNG SCIENTISTS: SETTING UP, CALIBRADING AND JORDAN MONTHS/ 3 DAYS MAINTAINING RTWM STATIONS 1. MR.JWAIED AL-SARAYREH AND DATALOGGERS 2. MR. AHMAD AL-SARAYREH 3. MR. SADAM AL RAMADAIN 4. MR. SALAMEH AL-MAHASNEH 5. MR. EHAB AL QURAN 6. MR. FAROUQ AL OMARI 7. MR. HAITHAM SALEH
CO-DIRECTORS: DR. MUFEED BATARSEH DR. TAYEL EL-HASAN DR. ANWAR JIREIS MR. MALAK AL RAWASHDEH
TWO OTHER YOUNG SCIENTISTS AT MU FOUR OTHER YOUNG SCIENTISTS AT MWI & RSS
3 YOUNG SCIENTIST TRAINING ON ST. JOHN’S, PROJECT START + YOUNG SCIENTISTS: RTWM AND REPORTING AND CANADA 18 MONTHS/ 5 DAYS EXTENDED WATER RESOURCES 1. MR.JWAIED AL-SARAYREH APPLICATIONS 2. MR. SALAMEH MAHASNEH 3. MR. FAROUQ AL OMARI 4.
CO-DIRECTOR: DR. ANWAR JIREIS MR. MALAK AL RAWASHDEH
4 YOUNG SCIENTIST TRAINING ON KARAK, PROJECT START + YOUNG SCIENTISTS: RTWM AND REPORTING AND JORDAN 18 MONTHS/ 3 DAYS EXTENDED WATER RESOURCES 1. MR.JWAIED AL-SARAYREH APPLICATIONS 2. MR. MOUSA MAGARBEH 3. MR. MOHAMMED MALAHMEH 4. MR. EHAB AL QURAN 5. MR SALAMEH AL MAHASNEH 6. MR. FAROUQ AL OMARI 7. MR HAITHAM SALEH
CO-DIRECTORS: DR. MUFEED BATARSEH DR. TAYEL EL-HASAN DR. ANWAR JIREIS 24 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072 MR. MALAK AL RAWASHDEH
TWO OTHER YOUNG SCIENTISTS AT MU FOUR OTHER YOUNG SCIENTISTS AT MWI & RSS
5 YOUNG SCIENTIST TRAINING ON KARAK, PROJECT START + YOUNG SCIENTISTS: EXTENDED WATER RESOURCES JORDAN 27 MONTHS/ 1 DAY APPLICATIONS 1. MR.JWAIED AL-SARAYREH 2. MS. SUHA AL DMOUR 3. MR AHMAD SARAYREH 4. MR. EHAB AL QURAN 5. MR SALAMEH AL MAHASNEH 6. MR FAROUQ AL OMARI 7. MR HAITHAM SALEH
CO-DIRECTORS: DR. MUFEED BATARSEH DR. TAYEL EL-HASAN DR. ANWAR JIREIS MR. MALAK AL RAWASHDEH
TWO OTHER YOUNG SCIENTISTS AT MU FOUR OTHER YOUNG SCIENTISTS AT MWI & RSS
A Plan for Travel For The Purpose Of Information Exchange
This includes travel to important international meetings, congresses as well as for coordination meetings and internal workshops involving the project participants. This travel plan is consistent with item f) of the budget tables in Annex 5a.
PURPOSE OF TRAVEL DATE TRAVELLERS
TEM
I UMBER ESTINATION RAVEL RAVEL T N T D
1 1. PROJECT COORDINATION MEETING ST. JOHN’S, PROJECT START + 3 DR. MUFEED BATARSEH 2. YOUNG SCIENTIST TRAINING ON SETUP, CANADA MONTHS DR. TAYEL EL-HASAN CALIBRATING AND MAINTAINING RTWM STATIONS AND DATALOGGERS YOUNG SCIENTISTS: 3. VISITING WRMD IN CANADA 4. 3RD NATIONAL REAL TIME WATER 1. MR.JWAIED AL-SARAYREH QUALITY MONITORING WORKSHOP 2. MS SUHA AL DMOUR 3. MR. EHAB AL QURAN
2 1. PROJECT COORDINATION MEETING KARAK, JORDAN PROJECT START + 6 MR. HASEEN KHAN 2. YEAR 1 STATION SET UP MONTHS MS. RENEE PATERSON 3. YOUNG SCIENTIST TRAINING ON SETUP, MR. RYAN PUGH CALIBRATING AND MAINTAINING RTWM COMMUNICATIONS/INSTRUMENT EXPERT STATIONS AND DATALOGGERS 4. VISITING INSTITUES AND SITES IN JORDAN
3 1. PROJECT COORDINATION MEETING ST. JOHN’S, PROJECT START + 18 DR. ANWAR JIREIS 2. YOUNG SCIENTIST TRAINING ON RTWM CANADA MONTHS MR. MALEK AL RAWASHDEH REPORTING AND EXTENDED WATER RESOURCES APPLICATIONS YOUNG SCIENTISTS: 3. VISITING WRMD IN CANADA 1. MR. AHMAD SARYREH 2. MR. SALAMEH AL MAHASNEH 3. MR FAROUQ AL OMARI
4 1. PROJECT COORDINATION MEETING KARAK, PROJECT START + 18 MR. JOE POMEROY 5. YEAR 2 STATION SET UP JORDAN MONTHS MS. RENEE PATERSON 2. YOUNG SCIENTIST TRAINING ON RTWM MS. PAULA DAWE REPORTING AND EXTENDED WATER COMMUNICATIONS/INSTRUMENT EXPERT RESOURCES APPLICATIONS 3. VISITING INSTITUTES AND SITES IN JORDAN 25 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072
5 1. PROJECT COORDINATION MEETING KARAK, JORDAN PROJECT START + 27 MR. MARTIN GOEBEL 2. YEAR 3 STATION SET UP MONTHS MS. RENEE PATERSON 3. YOUNG SCIENTIST TRAINING ON MR. KEITH ABBOTT OR MR. SHIBLY RAHMAN EXTENDED WATER RESOURCES APPLICATIONS 4. VISITING INSTITUTES AND SITES IN JORDAN 6 1. PRESENTATION AT LOCAL/REGIONAL MEDITERRANEAN YEAR 2 OF PROJECT DR. MUFEED BATARSEH CONFERENCE COUNTRY (EXACT DATE AND CONFERENCE TO BE DECIDED) 7 1. PRESENTATION AT INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL YEAR 3 OF PROJECT DR. MUFEED BATARSEH CONFERENCE (EXACT DATE AND MR. HASEEN KHAN CONFERENCE TO BE DECIDED) 8 1. PRESENTATION AT INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL YEAR 2 OF PROJECT DR. TAYEL EL-HASAN CONFERENCE (EXACT DATE AND CONFERENCE TO BE DECIDED) 9 1. PRESENTATION AT INTERNATIONAL CANADA YEAR 3 OF PROJECT DR. ANWAR JIREIS CONFERENCE- CWRA CONFERENCE (EXACT DATE AND CONFERENCE TO BE DECIDED) 10 1. PRESENTATION AT LOCAL CONFERENCE JORDAN YEAR 3 OF PROJECT MR. MALEK AL RAWASHDEH (EXACT DATE AND CONFERENCE TO BE DECIDED) 11 1. PRESENTATION AT INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL YEAR 2 OF PROJECT MS. RENEE PATERSON CONFERENCE (EXACT DATE AND CONFERENCE TO BE DECIDED) 12 1. PRESENTATION AT INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL YEAR 3 OF PROJECT MS. PAULA DAWE CONFERENCE (EXACT DATE AND CONFERENCE TO BE DECIDED) 14 1. PROJECT WRAP UP MEETING ST. JOHN’S, PROJECT START + 36 DR. MUFEED BATARSEH 2. FINAL REPORT CANADA MONTHS
A Plan for the Participation of Advisors/Experts.
The services of Real Time Water Monitoring instrumentation expert or Communications/Datalogger expert will be engaged for the station and Control Centre set up during Year 1 and Year 2 in Jordan to facilitate the installation of the stations. They are needed to assist with any maintenance problems that might arise from instrument damage during transportation to Jordan, any site specific instrumentation adaptation needs, and any communications issues that may arise between the station and the Control Centre. The experts will also assist with the delivery of the two planned training sessions to be delivered in Jordan prior to the setup of the stations. The expert services will be engaged for a period of 5 days. The expert/advisor plan is consistent with item e) of the budget tables in Annex 5a.
9. Implementation of Results
A Plan for Putting Into Practical Use the "Product" Of the Project
The end-user in the Mediterranean Dialogue country will be the Ministry of Water and Irrigation and the Royal Scientific Society. Universities involved with the project, including Mutah University, will also be end data users. Mutah University and the PFC-DSEER will be the implementer. MU, MWI and RSS, as the ultimate end users, will be involved in the Project from the beginning. The PPD, Dr. Mufeed Batarseh will coordinate operational and implementation aspects of the project and will ensure the participation of the end user organisations from the beginning. To facilitate end user participation, the general approach to be taken will be that Jordanian young scientists from MU, MWI and RSS will be trained and then the tasks identified under this SfP Project will be completed by them under the direction of the NATO country team. This will ensure project buy in from the beginning.
From the start of the project, regular communication and consultation will be maintained among all potential users and stakeholders to ensure the project addresses any potential challenges associated with the implementation of the project results by the stakeholders.
To integrate the end results of the project in the normal activities of the MWI, RSS and MU, a sustainability plan will be developed as one of the deliverables of this project. This sustainability plan will lay the blue print for future roles and responsibilities in operation of the RTWM network. To further facilitate the implementation of the results: 26 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072
• Training workshops will be organized to facilitate the implementation of the project results • User manuals will be developed for the extended water resources applications • A technical specification manual will be developed for the RTWM network
The end-user does not plan to obtain patents as a result of the project.
A Plan for Disseminating Important Knowledge Gained By the Project Teams
A number of avenues will be used to disseminate important knowledge gained by the project teams to the appropriate communities in Jordan. These include:
• A dedicated web page will be created on the ongoing activities of the SfP Project and the knowledge gained from the project. The web page will be hosted initially by the WRMD in Canada but MU will provide links to this webpage from their webpage.
• The ongoing activities of the SfP Project will be presented at two regional/local conferences in the Mediterranean dialogue countries.
• MU will use its position as a research entity to ensure that the knowledge gained through this project is disseminated to executing agencies and various other research centers such as other relevant government ministries, the Royal Scientific Society, the General Corporation for Environmental Protection, and other relevant bodies. This will be done through internal meetings, workshops, training sessions, and conferences.
• A series of seminars will be designed to provide a practical interpretation of results of research that will encourage secure, efficient and integrated water resources management in Jordan and other Mediterranean Dialogue countries.
• Liaising with other Mediterranean Dialogue countries with similar conditions to share the important knowledge gained by the project teams.
A Plan to Make Ongoing Activities of the SfP Project Visible To a Broader Community The ongoing activities of the SfP Project will be made visible to a broader community, especially in the Mediterranean Dialogue countries through mass media and the scientific results will be presented through publications in the international literature. The following tools will be used:
TOOL NUMBER TOOL TARGET AUDIENCE 1 PRESS RELEASE FROM THE OFFICE OF THE NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR, MINISTER OF CANADA ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION ON AWARD OF PROJECT. THIS PRESS RELEASE MAY BE FOLLOWED BY INTERVIEWS IN THE MASS MEDIA (NEWSPAPERS AND RADIO). 2 PRESS RELEASE FROM MUTAH UNIVERSITY ON AWARD OF PROJECT. JORDAN THIS PRESS RELEASE MAY BE FOLLOWED BY INTERVIEWS IN THE MASS MEDIA (NEWSPAPERS AND RADIO). 3 A DEDICATED WEB PAGE WILL BE CREATED ON THE ONGOING ACTIVITIES OF THE SFP PROJECT. JORDAN, MEDITERRANEAN THE WEB PAGE WILL BE HOSTED INITIALLY BY THE WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT DIVISION IN DIALOGUE COUNTRIES, CANADA BUT MU WILL PROVIDE LINKS TO THIS WEBPAGE FROM THEIR WEBPAGE. CANADA, INTERNATIONAL 4 THE ONGOING ACTIVITIES OF THE SFP PROJECT WILL BE PRESENTED IN TWO REGIONAL/LOCAL MEDITERRANEAN CONFERENCES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN DIALOGUE COUNTRIES. DIALOGUE COUNTRIES 5 THE ONGOING ACTIVITIES/RESULTS OF THE SFP PROJECT WILL BE PRESENTED IN SIX INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES. 6 THE RESULTS OF THE PROJECT WILL BE SENT FOR PUBLICATION IN AN INTERNATIONAL PEER REVIEWED INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL
Commitment to Acknowledgement NATO’s Support
We, the Project Directors and Co-director’s, commit that all publication of results gained through this SfP Project will include an acknowledgement of NATO’s support and a reference to the SfP Project.
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28 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072 10. Criteria for Success
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32 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072 12. Agreement by all Parties
We the Project Directors and Co-Directors affirm our agreement to this project by affixing our signatures below:
Haseen Khan (NPD)
Dr. Mufeed Isa Batarseh (PPD)
Dr. Tayel El-Hasan
Dr. Anwar Jireis
Mr. Malek Yasin Al Rawashdeh
Mr. Martin Goebel
Ms. Paula Dawe
Ms. Renee Paterson
Mr. Joe Pomeroy
Head of Institution Approvals
Prof. Abdelrahim Hunaiti President Mutah University Jordan
Mr. Basem Telfah Performance Management Unit Director Ministry of Water & Irrigation Jordan
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13. Appendices
I. Short, general presentation of participating institutions, their capabilities, resources and facilities
34 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072 Mutah University- Prince Faisal Centre for Dead Sea, Environment and Energy Research
General Background
Mu’tah University (MU) is located in Mutah town in Karak Governorate, 135 km south to the Amman, the capital city of Jordan. It was founded on 22 March 1981 by Royal Decree, to be a national institution for military and civilian higher education. MU mission originates in the national and human mission of the Hashemite Kingdome of Jordan, which endeavors to provide the country with military and civilian leaderships grounded in academic learning of recognized excellence. Towards this mission, MU strives to provide a broad range of learning and research opportunities that contribute to the sum of Human Knowledge and the achievement of sustainable development in the local community. MU campus is consisting of twelve academic faculties and providing a multidisciplinary education system. Associated with MU is the Prince Faisal Centre for Dead Sea, Environmental and Energy Research (PFC-DSEER). The mission of PFC-DSEER is to encourage, conduct, and coordinate Dead Sea, environmental, water and energy research and related activities on Mutah University campus. With primary emphasis placed on Dead Sea critical problems, PFC- DSEER programs expand to encompass national and international water, environmental and energy issues of common concern. PFC-DSEER is a nationally and internationally recognized center of excellence, with programs incorporating research, education and service directed toward solutions to Dead Sea, environmental and energy problems in different areas. In addition, the Center serves regional and country-wide educational and management needs for access to related research facilities. Although PFC-DSEER does not grant degrees, its faculty/researchers serve as mentors and advisors for undergraduate and graduate students who will ultimately receive their degrees from their department/university/institution. There are three main departments at PFC-DSEER: Laboratories Department, Communication and Information Department, and Administration Department. 1. Laboratories Department is responsible for conducting research activities, analytical analysis services and providing undergraduate and graduate students projects supervision. In addition, this department is delivering technical consultation and training in cooperation with center’s affiliates in wide range of multidisciplinary aspects in the fields of water, wastewater, Dead Sea, environmental and engineering. 2. Communication and Information Department is responsible for contact with industry, local community and university departments. 3. Administration Department is responsible for administration affairs related to center employers and affiliates.
Capabilities
The PFC-DSEER is involved in research in the following areas: i) water and environmental research, ii) sustainable water management, iii) Dead Sea phenomena (circulation, hydrodynamics, evaporation, mass transfer and diffusion), iv) Dead Sea Analysis (chemical and biological analysis, salt precipitation, chrestallization, mud), v) Dead Sea bed studies (geological and geophysical studies, ground water intrusion), vi) Dead Sea industries (potash, bromine, pharmaceutical products and cosmetics), vii) ) energy research.
The PFC-DSEER is involved in research activities with national and international funding agencies mainly in water and environment sectors such as: Ministry of Higher Education and Research, Higher Council for Science and Technology, Royal Scientific Society in Jordan, International Development Research Center (IDRC) in Canada, German Academic Services Agency (DAAD), and Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). There was also a previous research experience with NATO within the Science and Peace program with collaboration with Technical University of Braunschweig in Germany.
Resources
Staff : The PRC-DSEER currently has 8 full time staff. In addition to a multidisciplinary affiliates staff from university departments and overseas, and training engineers and students.
Facilities
The PFC-DSEER has several state-of-the-art laboratories with a wide range of processing equipment and research instrumentation including an Instrumental Analysis Laboratory, Wastewater Treatment Laboratory, Microbiology laboratory and Energy Laboratory. In addition, the PFC-DSEER own its permanent field site for conducting research activities related to water management and agriculture, and a fixed weather monitoring station.
Web Page: Mutah University web page : http://www.mutah.edu.jo/ PFC-DSEER web page: http://www.mutah.edu.jo/pfc_dseer/
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Ministry of Water and Irrigation
General Background
The Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI) is the official body responsible for the overall monitoring of the water sector, water supply and wastewater system and the related projects, planning and management, the formulation of national water strategies and policies, research and development, information systems and procurement of financial resources. Its role also includes the provision of centralized water-related data, standardization and consolidation of data.
The MWI was established by a 1988 by-law issued by the executive branch of the Government under the Jordanian Constitution. The establishment of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation was in response to Jordan’s recognition of the need for a more integrated approach to national water management. Since its establishment, MWI has been supported by several donor organization projects that have assisted in the development of water policy and water master planning as well as restructuring the water sector. Seven directorates carry out the above functions in each area.
Included under the Ministry of Water and Irrigation in Jordan are:
• The Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ): WAJ was originally established in 1983, pursuant to the Water Authority Law No.34 of 1983 (temporary law), as an autonomous corporate body, with financial and administrative independence named the Water Authority, it was directly linked with the Prime Minister. In 1988 WAJ became part of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI). The Water Authority is responsible for the public water supply and wastewater services, as well as for the overall water resources planning and monitoring.
• The Jordan Valley Authority (JVA): The Jordan valley authority (JVA) was established in 1977 with a mandate for the integrated development of the Jordan Valley encompassing all aspects of life. In 1988 JVA became part of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI). JVA is responsible for the socio-economic development of the Jordan Rift Valley, including water development and distribution of irrigation. The Jordan Valley Authority manages, and protects water and land resources and their supporting infrastructure in the Jordan Valley in an environmentally and economically sound manner, in the Jordanian national interest, through creating partnership with the private sector where appropriate. Capabilities
-The MWI is involved with the following activities:
• Demand Management • Large scale projects and financing • Public relations and awareness • National Water Management Plan • Environmental protection • Water resources planning and studies • Deep groundwater studies • Groundwater protection studies • Development of water policy
- The WAJ is responsible for the following:
1 Amman Water and Sewerage Authority. 2 Drinking Water Corporation. 3 Natural Resources Authority’s: 3.1 Irrigation Directorate. 3.2 Water Studies Directorate. 3.3 Drilling Directorate. 4 Jordan Valley Authority’s: 4.1 Irrigation Directorate. 4.2 Hydrology Directorate. 4.3 Dams Directorate. 5 Water and Wastewater Divisions. 6 Water Divisions of the municipalities of the Kingdom
-Jordan Valley Authority JVA mandate can be summarized as follows: 36 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072
I- The development of water resources of the Jordan Valley and their utilization for purposes of irrigated agriculture, domestic and municipal uses, industry, hydropower generation and other beneficial uses. Also, the protection and conservation of these resources, and the implementation of all works related to the development, utilization, protection and conservation thereof, including:
1. Conducting studies required for evaluation of water resources including hydrological, hydro geological and geological studies, drilling of explanatory wells and installation of observation wells. 2. Planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of irrigation projects and related structures and works of all types and purposes including dams and appurtenant works, pumping stations, reservoirs and water conveyance and distribution networks, surface and subsurface drainage works, flood protection works, and roads and building needs for operation and maintenance. 3. Soil surveys and classification, and the identification and reclamation of lands for use in irrigated agriculture, and dividing them into farm units. 4. Settlement of disputes arising from the use of water resources. 5. o Organize and direct the construction of private and public wells in coordination with the Water Authority Of Jordan. 6. Develop and improve the environment and the living conditions in the Jordan Valley, and implement the related works including:
a. Setting rules and regulations for areas of land on which construction of buildings is permitted, setback lines, rights of way, etc., outside towns and villages borders. b. Development of lands planned for use as residential, industrial, agricultural and other zones. II- Planning, design and construction ~ farm roads. III- Development of tourism in the Jordan Valley including construction of touristic and recreational facilities. IV- Social development of the Valley inhabitants including the establishment of private institutions in order to help them contribute to the development of the Valley and to the achievement of the development objectives. V- Additional development activities as requested from the cabinet.
Resources
Staff: MWI: 150 WAJ: 6500 JVA: 1800
Facilities
The MWI has a central facility located in Amman, Jordan and including other two facilities: WAJ and JVA.
Web Page: http://www.mwi.gov.jo/sites/en-us/default.aspx
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Newfoundland and Labrador Water Resources Management Division (WRMD) General Background
The WRMD is the sole agency for the management of the provincial water resources of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, whose objective is to administer various statutes as they relate to the allocation of water, stream alterations, protection of water supply areas, licensing of well drillers and other aspects of water resource management. The WRMD is responsible for water resources management as per provisions of the Environmental Protection Act and the Water Resources Act. Some of the work activities of the division include:
• Operating and maintaining hydrometric, climate and water equality networks • Acting as a lead government agency in drinking water quality monitoring and reporting • Regulating public water and wastewater systems • Regulating alterations of water bodies • Managing allocation of water and granting of water rights • Conducting hydrological modelling studies • Offering operator education, training and certification to water and wastewater operators • Participating in environmental assessments • Offering programs to protect, enhance, conserve, develop, control and effectively utilize the water resources of Newfoundland and Labrador.
There are eight sections within the WRMD: the Surface Water Section; the Water Quality Section; the Groundwater Section; the Hydrologic Modelling Section; the Community Water and Wastewater Section; the Water Investigations Section; and the Water Rights Section.
1. The Surface Water Section is responsible for implementing the Water Supply Area Protection Program, and associated regulatory permits. The section plans and implements site specific water quality impact studies, and undertakes the drinking water quality monitoring and reporting for the province. It also operates and maintains hydrometric and climate data collection networks. 2. The Water Quality section administers the Canada-Newfoundland Water Quality Monitoring Agreement on water quality in rivers and lakes across the province. This section plans and carries out recurrent surveys on waterbodies, and produces interpretative reports on baseline water quality, variability and trends. Special sampling programs are developed for water quality in negatively impacted by human activities, and the section plans and operates the provincial Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring Network. The section also maintains an ambient water quality database. 3. The Groundwater Section administers sections of the Water Resources Act that pertain to groundwater, as well as the Well Drilling Regulations that come under the Act. The section is responsible for issuing well driller’s licenses, conducting water well inspections, maintaining a well observation network, and planning and implementing the Wellhead Protection Program. This section works to develop policies and guidelines concerning groundwater resources, and conducts groundwater investigations and studies. A database o drilled water wells and groundwater quality is maintained. 4. The Hydrologic Modelling section develops, evaluates and implements computer-based techniques, methodologies and tools required for water resources management. This is achieved through comprehensive hydrologic analysis, modelling hydrologic/hydrodynamic behaviour in watersheds, and by developing technical guidelines and policies for water resources management. This section incorporates Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing technology into the WRMD’s activities. It also maintains a near real-time streamflow, water quality and climate data network by collecting data from remote river gauging stations via satellite. The section is responsible for operating and maintaining the Flood Forecast Centre, and also manages the drinking water quality, boil water advisory and other databases within the WRMD. 5. The Community and Wastewater Section reviews applications for environmental approval for new community water and sewage systems, extensions and alterations It assists in assessing community water and sewage needs, and investigates complaints. The section develops policies, regulations and guidelines for the design, construction and operation of waterworks and sewage works, and regulations construction operation and maintenance of municipal water and wastewater systems through Permits to Construct and Permits to Operate. 6. The Water Investigations Section administers the process for reviewing and recommending environmental approval of any proposed alterations to bodies of water across the province. It is responsible for developing regulations an guidelines for designing water related structures, and carries out flood and water resources impact studies. The section is also responsible for addressing dam safety issues in the province. 7. The Water Rights Section develops and implements policies, procedures and methodologies for water allocation and granting of rights by evaluating proposals for issuing Water Use licences. It maintains a computer aided Water Rights Registry, and develops and implements technical guidelines and regulation for optimum use and rational management of water resources. The section provides expertise in environmental assessment of projects and technical studies.
38 Transboundary Water Governance and Climate Change SFP-984072 8. The Operator Education, Training and Certification section provides competency-based training for water and wastewater operators across the province. Educational seminars are offered at various locations throughout the province, and on site training is offered through the use of three Mobile Training Units. The section assists operators in preparing for and writing certification exams
Capabilities
The WRMD has extensive water quality monitoring expertise. It regularly samples, analyzes and reports on over a hundred ambient water bodies. It also frequently samples, analyzes and reports on over 500 public water supply sources. In addition it investigates water quality issues and undertakes specialized water quality studies every year.
The WRMD is recognised nationally for using innovative technologies for Integrated Water Resources Management.
The WRMD was the first provincial agency in Canada to set up a real time water quality network for early detection and now the project is being replicated on a national level by Environment Canada. The WRMD operates an extensive network of over 60 Real Time hydrometric stations and 18 Real Time Water Quality stations. A distinguishing feature of this network is that all data is made available to the public through the department’s web page within three hours of its being collected by the water quality probes through an in house developed Automated Data Retrieval System (ADRS).
The WRMD also extensively uses Earth Observation/remote sensing technologies for watershed management and flood forecasting. EO is used in watershed management for land use analysis, change detection and the development of auxiliary data products such as Digital Elevation Models and slope maps. The WRMD is currently working with the European Space Agency in Egypt to implement a system for Satellite monitoring of Lake Water Quality. It is also testing the use of remote sensing for river ice forecasting under the European Space Agency’s Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) program.
Similarly the Department of Environment and Conservation of Newfoundland and Labrador is a leader in modifying and applying the Canadian Water Quality Index to a wide variety of water resources management applications including the communication of real time water quality data and the suitability of water for various uses.
The WRMD is also actively involved in training and offers training sessions on RTWQ and the WQI for industry. It also offered a two-week professional development course, from April 18 to April 29, 2005, for the staff from the NWRC on “Water Quality Data Analysis and Modelling” under a CIDA funded National Water Quality and Availability Management (NAWQAM) Project. NAWQAM is a joint initiative of the Government of Egypt’s Ministry of Public Works and Water Resources and the Government of Canada’s Canadian International Development Agency.
Resources
Staff: 48
Facilities
Not Applicable
Web Page: http://www.env.gov.nl.ca/env/waterres/index.html
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III. Written commitment(s) from the end-user(s) of their active involvement in the Project from the beginning and through the implementation phase including a description of their interest in the Project’s results.
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V. ADRS Schematic
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VI. A one page description of real time water quality monitoring in Newfoundland and Labrador
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VII. Poster for Integrated In-Situ and Satellite Observations of Water Quality in Lake Manzalah, Egypt
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VIII. Innovative Approaches to Monitoring for Transboundary Water Governance
INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO MONITORING FOR TRANSBOUNDARY WATER GOVERNANCE
Haseen Khan1, Paula Dawe1, A. Ali Khan1, Thomas Puestow2
1 Water Resources Management Division, Department of Environment and Conservation, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John’s, Canada 2 Centre for Cold Ocean Research (CCORE), St. John’s, Canada
There are over 260 international or transboundary water basins shared by two or more countries worldwide. These transboundary watersheds comprise over 50 percent of the Earth’s surface, contain 40 percent of the global population, and include no less than 145 different nations (Grover, 2007). Rarely does the convenience of having hydrologic boundaries match up with political ones exist, making management of transboundary water resources one of the greatest challenges currently facing our world today. In the last 20 years there has been a concerted movement toward integrated water resources management (IWRM), promoted heavily at the international level, even for transboundary basins. This approach arose in response to the fragmented regimes where water was managed as part of sectoral use, but never under a common, holistic policy framework. IWRM attempts to integrate social, economic and environmental factors and facilitates a more-complete understanding of the political, cultural, and social aspects of water.
The principles and elements of trans-boundary water governance have their foundation in international water law and include, but are not limited to, cooperation, equitable and reasonable use, obligation not to cause harm, obligation to exchange data and information, and emergency notification. Organizations that control transboundary water resources come in many forms, and much has changed since the first inter-state water agreements were created. Treaties and agreements in international river basins vary according to the parties involved (bilateral, multilateral), the subject matter (data collection, allocation, planning, construction), territorial extent (entire basin, sub-basin), and the intensity of cooperation (duty to inform, implementation of joint programs) (Tortajada et al., 2006). Transboundary governance structures can include: authorities, commissions, compacts, conventions, initiatives, agreements, treaties, councils and partnerships.
The fact of transboundary water governance in and of itself can be considered a success and has resulted in the evolution of robust institutions that can survive even through the worst of times. The management of transboundary rivers basins is a sufficiently focused issue area in which to drive international relations and cooperation. It is also a unique arena in which to test new intergovernmental policies and methods, a forum for engendering ‘social learning’, and is a field in which nations can show global leadership. Creating working transboundary water governance structures requires an adaptive approach, learning from member groups, and the development of trust between stakeholders. At the transboundary level, the concept of integrated watershed management has seen some improvements in water quality, greater equity in water allocation, and increased coordination between relevant stakeholders. Institutions for managing transboundary waterbodies are also useful channels for communication and discussion, and for the exchange of data and information.
The management of watersheds whether they cross international boarders or not is a difficult prospect in the face of hydrological extremes, deteriorating watersheds and water quality, rapid human population growth, increasing urbanization, climate change, and man-made disasters. The weaknesses of transboundary water
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governance are manifold in part due to the sheer scale of issues and the frequent gaps between policies, plans and practices. The various agencies and organizations involved in transboundary water governance in any given region make decision-making and consensus building very difficult to achieve. Agencies directly responsible for water resources are often overextended, with insufficient technical capacity and support. If planning in jurisdictions is not done in parallel, collaboration can be hindered. Scientific and political approaches can differ between countries as can ambition levels. Funding is also a major issue as this allows long term planning and institutional stability. In many transboundary governance organizations too much time is spent on administration and other irrelevancies, time which would be better spent working on watershed issues. Some water agreements are simply too narrow in focus and are vulnerable to climate change. Water quality is often overlooked in the context of international water management which focuses more on water quantity and allocation. Joint development of international rivers is difficult to achieve because of questions of sovereignty, ownership and jurisdiction. Lack of authority and enforcement power plagues all transboundary water governance organizations. Success also relies on having an impartial basin coordinator and avoiding institutional, sectoral, and jurisdictional bias. Transboundary governance organizations do little to raise awareness within the general public as to their activities and achievements. Information production also tends to lag behind information needs in water management (Nilsson, 2003).
Many transboundary basin organizations are at the point now where stagnation has set in; they have achieved all they can in their current form and must decide whether to evolve with the times and make use of emerging technology to improve effective management of watersheds. The doctrine “you can’t manage what you can’t measure” applies to the governance of transboundary waters. In order not to become redundant, such organizations must have data, and a wide spectrum is required to support informed decision-making and to evaluate the effects of decisions. Science-based assessment of key transboundary problems and their root causes creates a factual process that can assist countries and different stakeholders to become aware of the top priority transboundary concerns and to focus politically on key issues. Having a solid scientific footing for multi-country collaboration has proven to be effective in reducing tensions between conflicting resource interests, and transitioning from water conflict to cooperation. The next steps in the transboundary governance process therefore must involve more comprehensive monitoring programs. Emerging technologies that can be used in transboundary water governance to produce necessary data include:
• In-situ, real-time water monitoring technologies • Earth Observation (EO) remote sensing technologies • Communication and network technologies • Water related indices
Emerging water management technology has seen only limited use worldwide, and even less use in the context of transboundary water governance. One location where the integrated use of different emerging water monitoring technologies has been piloted is in the Nile Basin in Egypt in two recent state of the art environmental monitoring and sensing programs:
• “An Environmental Security and Water Resources Management System Using Real Time Water Quality Warning and Communication” implemented in 2007 under the Science for Peace initiative of NATO • “Satellite Monitoring of Lake Water Quality in Egypt” implemented in 2005 and funded under the TIGER initiative of the European Space Agency (ESA)
The Nile is the longest river in the world at 6,695 km, with a drainage basin covering an area of 2.9 million km2, or about 10 percent of the African continent. The Nile and its tributaries flow though ten countries: Uganda, Sudan, and Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzanian, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, and Burundi. On average 85% of Nile water is utilised for agricultural purposes. The Nile River is also an important source of hydroelectric power. Today, Nile Basin countries face the challenges of poverty, instability, rapid population growth, and severe environmental degradation. However, joint regional development of the Nile offers significant opportunities for cooperative management and development that can catalyze greater regional integration for socioeconomic development. With assistance from the UNDP and the World Bank, in 2001, the ten Nile basin countries cooperated in launching the International Consortium for Cooperation on the Nile known as the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) (Raadgever et al., 2005).
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In recent years, Egypt has become increasingly vulnerable to the loss of Nile waters through a combination of withdrawals by upper riparian countries, water pollution, climate change, and increasing water demand in Egypt and throughout the Nile basin. Egypt has a population of 76 million (in 2007), 99 percent of which lives within the Nile Valley and Delta. Egypt depends on the Nile River for 97% of its surface water, has 3.2 million hectares of cropland totally dependent on irrigation, and at current water demand is very near the limits of water supply (Khan et al., 2006). The economic and social importance of ensuring the security of the Nile River against any natural or anthropogenic threats cannot be overemphasized and would have far reaching economic, social and political implications.
Real time water monitoring involves continuous measurement of water related parameters in-situ with results provided in real time or near real time. The water monitoring system implemented under the NATO Science for Peace initiative comprised of four real-time water monitoring stations (quantity and quality), one automated weather station, and set-up of a data collection and reporting command centre (Khan et al., 2006). The new integrated water monitoring, warning and reporting system will allow the management of Egypt’s water resources using a real-time pro-active approach, providing decision makers with information about the present status of water quality. It will allow senior water managers to protect the integrity of Egypt’s vital water resources against any natural or anthropogenic threats, take immediate corrective and mitigation measures, and report the suitability of water for designated beneficial water uses. Such a real time water monitoring network will lay the foundation for greater environmental security and water resources management in the country.
An indicator is a means for reducing a volume of data without loosing significant information. Indicators are useful tools as they meet the information needs of policy and decision makers. One component of the water monitoring and reporting system implemented under the NATO Science for Peace initiative was the development and implementation of a water quality index to report the suitability of water for designated beneficial uses such as drinking, irrigation, livestock, fishing and recreational use. The Egyptian Water Quality Index (EWQI) was developed in parallel with the real time water monitoring network to create a more integrated approach to water monitoring, coupling the production of Egyptian water quality data with the ability to provide decision makers with information that can then be acted upon (Khan et al., 2008).
Earth Observation is the gathering of information about the Earth’s physical, chemical and biological systems. It is used to monitor and assess the status of, and changes in, the natural and built environment. In the context of emerging technologies for transboundary water governance EO involves the use of photos and radar images taken from remote-sensing satellites. EO systems provide spatial observations at a large scale, and temporal information at increased monitoring frequency as compared with regular in-situ monitoring systems. EO has the ability to extend point measurements to estimates of water quality over larger areas and it more easily captures non point pollution sources over field methods. EO can be used to identify where pollution is coming from, what areas are affected by pollution, status and trends in water quality and surface cover over time, identify actions to mitigate problems, and measure the effectiveness of different mitigative actions. In 2005, the project “Satellite Monitoring of Lake Water Quality in Egypt” was funded under the TIGER initiative of the European Space Agency (ESA) with the objective to design, develop and implement an EO based capacity for the operational monitoring of water quality in Lake Manzalah, Egypt (C-CORE, 2007). When integrated with real time monitoring networks, the project produced a comprehensive set of water management products including both water quality (TDS, TSS, turbidity, chlorophyll) and surface cover (vegetative cover, land reclamation). Other value-added information that can be produced from EO water quality monitoring includes development of water quality management zones; monitoring of secondary parameters that cannot be observed directly via EO, but that could be mapped via existing relationships with primary parameters; evaluation of temporal variability in the absence of in-situ data; and evaluation of seasonal differences in water quality.
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Figure 1: Lake Manzalah water quality management zones (C-CORE, 2007)
These projects provided a holistic approach that is inherently proactive and that encompasses different aspects of integrated water resources management including data collection, early warning, analysis, reporting, response, and mitigation. The networks established use existing technologies, but their integration into a single system involves development of protocols and procedures unique to the needs of water resources security and management in Egypt. The testing of such innovative water management technologies in Egypt has so far only been on an ad hoc basis. What is needed is a single project with integrated application of advanced communication technology, real time water monitoring, water related indices, and EO systems. This is an innovative approach to IWRM that could be expanded to other countries within the Nile basin under the direction of the Nile Basin Initiative. Other potential application and testing areas include anywhere there are international transboundary waters under pressure.
The use of innovative monitoring technologies in transboundary water governance is still, for the most part, in the pilot stage. New uses for the technology are continually being found as well as linkages in how the technologies can be used together, to support, reinforce and strengthen water resources management. The conventional approach to water monitoring essentially involves the running of different stand alone monitoring programs in parallel. The innovative approach using emerging technologies creates a network interlinking all aspects of the monitoring program. The use of innovative technologies in water management is inherently pro-active allowing for more immediate, comprehensive and integrated assessments and decision making. Monitoring data is available in real time and can be generated over the entire basin. For decision makers, the web of integrated information produced with emerging water monitoring technology can exponentially enhance their understanding of the drivers and pressures impacting the state of the watershed. This innovative approach makes the watershed come alive– its character, behaviour and responses.
The overarching goal of sharing international waters through transboundary water governance is built upon the foundation of integrated water resources management. At its core, IWRM provides a holistic and adaptive approach to resource management where the total land and water resource base is considered as a whole. The information needs implied by integrated water resources management should be met in a manner as integrated, comprehensive and adaptive as the concept itself. The use of innovative and emerging water monitoring technologies and methods brings us closer to achieving this. In the future, IWRM should also stand for Integrated Water Resources Monitoring.
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Figure 2: Integrated approach to water monitoring using innovative technologies
References Abdel-Gawad, S., Khan, H., Khan, A. A., 2008, A “State of the Art” Environmental Monitoring and Sensing Network for the Nile River in Egypt, 8th International Conference on Modelling, Monitoring and Management of Water Pollution.
C-CORE, 2007, Satellite Monitoring of Lake Water Quality in Egypt — Validation and Final Project Report (D46 and D50), C-CORE Report R-07-042-404 v1.1.
Grover, V. (editor), 2007, Water: A Source of Conflict or Cooperation?, Science Publishers, USA.
Khan, H., Khan, A.A., Boals, R.G, Abdel-Gawad, S., El-Sadek, A. Mostaza, T.M.S, 2006, An Environmental Security and Water Resources Management System Using Real Time Water Quality Warning and Communication, NATO.
Nilsson, S., April 2003, The Role and Use of Information in Transboundary Water Management, Department of Land and Water Resource Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm.
Raadgever, G. T., Mostert, E., 2005, Transboundary River Basin Management: State of the Art Review on Transboundary Regimes and Information Management in the Context of Adaptive Management, Delft University of Technology.
Tortajada, C., Varis, O., March 2006, International Workshop on Transboundary Water Management, Helsinki, Finland, IWRA, Vol. 31:1 pp.134-137.
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IX. Water Resources in Jordan: A Primer
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Water Resources in Jordan: A Primer
August, 2010
Water Resources Management Division Department of Environment and Conservation Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
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Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... I
WATER RESOURCES IN JORDAN...... 3
GEOGRAPHY AND ECO-REGIONS OF JORDAN...... 4
LAND USE IN JORDAN ...... 5
THE WATER CYCLE AND BUDGET OF JORDAN ...... 5
PRECIPITATION ...... 5 EVAPORATION ...... 6 CLIMATE CHANGE ...... 6 SURFACE WATER ...... 6 JORDAN RIVER...... 7 Upper Jordan River...... 7 Lake Tiberais...... 7 Lower Jordan River...... 8 YARMOUK RIVER...... 10 ZARKA RIVER ...... 10 DEAD SEA ...... 11 WADIS...... 13 ARZAQ WETLAND...... 15 DAMS AND RESERVOIRS ...... 16 WATER HARVESTING...... 17 GROUNDWATER...... 17 FOSSIL AQUIFERS ...... 19 CANALS AND PIPELINES...... 19 KING ABDULLAH CANAL (KAC)...... 20 WADI MA’IN CONVEYANCE PROJECT ...... 20 DISI WATER CONVEYANCE PROJECT ...... 20 RED SEA-DEAD SEA CONVEYANCE PROJECT...... 21 UNACCOUNTED FOR WATER ...... 22 WASTEWATER ...... 22 DESALINATED WATER ...... 24 PEACE WATER...... 24
WATER USE IN JORDAN ...... 24
DOMESTIC WATER USE ...... 25 INDUSTRIAL WATER USE...... 25 MINING ...... 26 ENERGY ...... 26 AGRICULTURAL WATER USE ...... 26 WATER DEMAND SUPPLY ANALYSIS ...... 27
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PLAYERS IN THE JORDANIAN WATER SECTOR ...... 28
MINISTRY OF WATER AND IRRIGATION ...... 29 WATER AUTHORITY OF JORDAN ...... 29 JORDAN VALLEY AUTHORITY ...... 29 OTHER GOVERNMENT MINISTRIES ...... 29 THE GENERAL CORPORATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (GCEP)...... 29 ROYAL SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY (RSS)...... 30 ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE CONSERVATION OF NATURE ...... 30 INTERNATIONAL AID AGENCIES ...... 30
WATER MONITORING NETWORKS IN JORDAN ...... 30
WATER QUALITY GUIDELINES...... 32 WATER DATA TOOLS...... 33
WATER RESOURCES IN THE MIDDLE EAST REGION...... 33
WATER USE IN THE REGION...... 33 MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS ...... 34 JORDAN AND ISRAEL ...... 34 JORDAN AND SYRIA ...... 35
WATER ISSUES IN JORDAN ...... 35
STRENGTHS OF JORDANIAN WATER SECTOR ...... 36
REFERENCES ...... 37
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Water Resources in Jordan The Kingdom of Jordan covers an area of 89,322 km2 in the Middle East. The population of Jordan was 6.2 million in 2008 and is expected to reach 8 million by 2024 with a current population growth rate of 2.3%. Approximately 70% of Jordan’s population lives in urban areas.
Jordan is one of the most water stressed countries in the world, a situation that is only likely to worsen over time, and which is further exacerbated by the fact that water stress is coupled with both financial stress and lack of energy resources in Jordan. Water is the single most critical natural resource in Jordan. Industrial and agricultural growth, productivity, public health, the environment, a democratic and pluralistic society– virtually all aspects of sustainable economic, social, and political development depend on availability of an adequate water supply in the country.
In Jordan the lack of water is a problem, and portends a national catastrophe within the decade. Total water supply in 2010 was estimated at 1059 MCM, which includes the over-pumping of aquifers as indicated in Table 1. Even with over-pumping, in most Jordanian cities, residents receive water only sporadically, and domestic water consumption is very low (less than 100 litres/capita/day).
Water scarcity is exacerbated by rapid population increase, inefficient water management and use, lack of adequate wastewater treatment capacity, and inappropriate pricing policies. Large- scale desalination is not yet economically feasible. Long-term solutions are likely to involve a combination of new supplies, demand management and reduced population growth. Over the short-term, the most feasible options for reducing the gap between water demand and supply are improved management of existing water resources, and improved quality of treated wastewater for reuse.
Table 1: Projected Water Supply by Source, MCM Year Surface Peace Wehdah Treated Sea Total Ground Disi Desal Not Total Supply Water Water Dam WW Desal Sustain water ndwt Sustain 2010 239 47 133 153 19 591 377 66 25 468 1059 2015 232 56 116 181 22 607 344 66 45 454 1061 2020 234 50 119 207 28 637 300 98 59 457 1094
A map of water resources in Jordan including watershed boundaries, basin safe yields, rivers, wadis, and locations of dams, springs and wastewater treatment plants can be found in Figure 3.
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Figure 3: Map of Water Resources in Jordan
Geography and Eco-regions of Jordan Geographically, Jordan has three distinct zones:
• Jordan Rift Valley: a north-south strip lying primarily below sea level and containing the Jordan River Valley and the Dead Sea, extending to the Gulf of Aqaba. • Highlands or Jordanian Plateau: a north-south strip containing the southward extension of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range, traversed by the Yarmouk River and several other wadis. Also contains most of Jordan’s cities. • Badia: a semi-desert steppe forming the rest of the territory of Jordan to the east, north and south.
Jordan has seven distinct eco-regions within its territory including:
1. Desert Ecosystem: Covers approximately 75% of Jordan’s area.
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2. Scarp and Highlands Ecosystem: The mountainous strip that adjoins the Jordan Valley to the east and contains the largest remaining area of natural forest area comprised of mixed evergreen and oak forest. 3. Subtropical Ecosystem: The western most strip of the country stretching through the Jordan Valley. 4. Dead Sea Basin Ecosystem: Located within the Jordan Rift Valley, situated on the shores of the Dead Sea and the oases in its vicinity. 5. Jordan River Basin Ecosystem: Located in the northern part of the Jordan Valley consisting of the Jordan River and its tributaries. 6. Gulf of Aqaba Ecosystem: Located in the marine environment surrounding the Gulf of Aqaba. 7. Freshwater Ecosystem: The Arzaq Oasis located 75 km northeast of Amman.
Figure 4: Pine forests in Northern Jordan Outside of Jerash
Land Use in Jordan The Department of Statistics classifies land use in Jordan as follow:
• Grazing areas- 93.3% • Urban areas- 1.89 % • Forests and reforestation areas- 1.5 % • Surface water- 0.62% • Agricultural land- 2.69%
The Water Cycle and Budget of Jordan The climate of Jordan is semi-arid to arid. Jordan’s water balance consists of precipitation, water lost to evaporation, surface runoff, infiltration to groundwater aquifers and soil water. Jordan typically experiences and 11-year hydrologic cycle characterized by a 3-year norm above average and 4 years below it.
Precipitation The rainy season in Jordan extends from October to April with the peak usually during December, January and February. Precipitation in Jordan is mainly in the form of rainfall, with snowfall occurring once or twice a year over the Highlands in the north-west. The long-term average annual precipitation is 100 mm/yr or 8,500 MCM. Only Highland areas, comprising only 4% of the country's total area, receive more than 300 mm/year of rain. Precipitation rates decrease drastically to the east and to the west of the Highlands. 81% of the total land area receives less than 100 mm/year in precipitation.
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The dry climate, atmospheric dust and low intensity of precipitation affects the quality of precipitation reflected by it’s higher than average salt content.
Evaporation The high temperatures and low humidity in Jordan result in an extremely high evaporation rate. The long-term average evaporation rate is 80.2% of precipitation over the entire area of Jordan. Potential evaporation ranges from 1600 mm/y in the northern Highlands to more than 4000 mm/y in the southern and eastern desert.
Climate Change Like much of the rest of the world, Jordan has experienced marked changes in climate and the hydrological cycle outside of normal expected climatic variation in recent years. Observed effects include:
• Decreased precipitation • Increased temperature • Change in timing of precipitation– rainy season starts later, but typically ends at the same time • Decreased baseflow in surface water systems • Deteriorating water quality
Jordan has recently experienced severe drought in both 1999 and again in 2009.
Jordan is attempting to adapt to climate change on a number of different fronts and sectors. Agricultural, energy, and resource policy has all been focused to try and decrease Jordan’s vulnerability to climate change effects. Actions taken include:
• Planting trees to offset carbon emissions and improve the health of watersheds • Switching from oil to natural gas • Increased use of renewables including solar energy generation • Changes in agricultural practice– type of crops, timing of planting, drip irrigation • Move to more efficient and productive water use in all sectors– agricultural, municipal, industrial • Use of reclaimed water and brackish water • Recharge of groundwater aquifers • Use of desalination
Surface Water Renewable freshwater resources in Jordan originate in precipitation over its territories and flows of international watercourses to which Jordan is a riparian, including the Jordan and Yarmouk River. Jordan has 7 surface drainage areas with contributing land area from both within and outside of the country as indicated in Table 2.
Table 2: Surface Water Basins in Jordan Basins Total Used Flow Portion (MCM/ (%) yr) 1. Dead Sea Basin - - a. Yarmouk Basin 245 145 b. Jordan River and Side 199.3 35
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Wadis Basin c. Zarqa River Basin 100 100 d. Dead Sea Side Wadis 44.6 17 Basin e. Mujib Basin 105.9 0 f. Wadi Hasa Basin 41.1 30 g. Wadi Arabia North Basin 46 12 2. Azraq Basin 40.9 0 3. Hammad Basin 24.3 0 4. Sirhan Basin 17.5 0 5. Jafr Basin 12.5 0 6 Southern Desert Basin 1 0 7. Wadi Araba Basin 7.8 0
Surface water resources in Jordan vary considerably from year to year. The long-term average surface water flow is estimated at 706.91 MCM/year, comprising of 451.4 MCM/year base flow, and 255.5 MCM/year flood flow. Of these only an estimated 473 MCM/year is usable or can be economically developed.
Jordan River The surface catchment area of the Jordan River is 18,194 km2, of which 2,833 km2 lie upstream of the Lake Tiberias outlet. Upstream of Lake Tiberias, the river is known as the Upper Jordan River; downstream of Lake Tiberias it becomes the Lower Jordan River, terminating at the Dead Sea. The Jordan River is 215 km long and flows at elevations below sea level for much of its distance
Upper Jordan River The headwaters of the Jordan River originate from three main spring fed rivers: Hasbani (average annual flow of 138 MCM) in Lebanon; Dan (average annual flow of 245 MCM) in Israel; and Banias (average annual flow of 121 MCM) in the Golan. The three streams converge six kilometres inside Israel to form the Upper Jordan River, which then flows into Lake Tiberias. The salinity levels in the three tributaries are low at about 20 ppm.
In 1964, Syria attempted construction of the Headwater Diversion Plan that would have blocked flow of water into Lake Tiberias. This project and Israel’s attempt to block it contributed to the outbreak of the 1967 Six-Day War during which Israel captured the Golan Heights, headwater area of the Jordan River.
Lake Tiberais Lake Tiberias is known under many different names including the Sea of Galilee, Lake Kinneret and Lake Gennesaret. It is the largest freshwater lake in Israel with a total area of 166 km2 and a maximum depth of 43 m. The lake is partly fed by underground springs in addition to inflow from the Upper Jordan River.
Israel has been using all the water of the Upper Jordan since 1962 when it started controlling releases from Lake Tiberias into the Lower Jordan River. Except during floods, when the lake is full, the release has been zero. Some saline springs surrounding Lake Tiberias are channelled downstream of Lake Tiberias into the Jordan River. In 1964, Israel completed the National Water Carrier to transport water from the lake to the population centres of Israel. Lake Tiberias is the source of much of Israel’s drinking water. Water is also used for irrigation purposes in the Negev. 7
Under the terms of the 1994 Isreal-Jordan Peace Treaty, Israel is to supply Jordan with 50 MCM of water annually from Lake Tiberias.
In the face of increasing water demand and dry winters in both 1999 and 2009, water levels in Lake Tiberias have fallen dangerously low at times. The lake is at risk of becoming irreversibly salinized by the salt water springs under the lake. The salinity of water in Lake Tiberias ranges from 240 ppm in the upper end of the lake (marginal for irrigation water), to 350 ppm (too high for sensitive citrus fruits) where it discharges back into the Jordan River.
Figure 5: Water Levels in Lake Tiberias
Lower Jordan River Flowing out of Lake Tiberias, the Lower Jordan River is joined by its major tributaries: the Yarmouk River originating in Syria; the Zarqa River originating in Jordan. Both rivers join the Jordan from the eastern side. The Yarmouk forms Jordan's northern border with Syria; the Zarqa originates solely within Jordan.
The lower Jordan River, downstream of Lake Tiberias, flows through the Jordan rift valley before emptying into the Dead Sea. Because of Israel’s redirection of the upper course, the river now receives water mostly from the Yarmouk River, a tributary originating in Syria, and from a few lateral wadis that incise the two mountain ranges that run parallel to the valley on each side. Most of the population and cities, together with the bulk of Jordan’s rain-fed agriculture and increasing groundwater based irrigation, are concentrated in these highlands. In the east bank of the valley some 23,000 hectares of irrigated land have been developed as a result of diversion of the Yarmouk and side wadis.
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The Jordan River has experienced substantial reductions in river flows over the years from over abstraction. The discharge of the Yarmouk River in the Jordan River prior to the use of water by the different riparian users, was around 400 MCM/year. Recently, this amount has gradually declined to very small discharges.
The Lower Jordan River basin has undergone a drastic squeeze, with 83% of its flow consumed before it reaches the Dead Sea because of diversions in Israel and Syria, 45,000 hectares of irrigated land, mushrooming cities swollen by waves of refugees from Palestine and Iraq, immigrants from the Gulf countries, and the new Wehdah Dam reservoir on the Yarmouk River.
The lower Jordan river becomes progressively more saline as it flows south, reaching up to twenty-five percent salinity (250,000 ppm) where it flows in the Dead Sea. The rehabilitation of the Jordan waters below Lake Tiberias was an important feature of the Water Annex of the Jordan-Israel Peace Treaty. The discharge into the Jordan River is now comprised of irrigation return flow, saline spring discharges diverted by Israel, and a small amount of runoff. The water is so poor in quality that it is usable only after desalination or under strict restrictions. No water treatment is presently provided. However, the 1994 Peace Treaty stipulates that within three years both sides should refrain from discharging into the river any water that is not suitable for unrestricted irrigation (this clause has not been abided by).
There have been two separate incidents of Israel causing severe pollution events on the Jordan River system for which it had to compensate Jordan with equivalent freshwater. In 1998, Israel pumped water from Lake Tiberias that was polluted with sewage to Jordan. Again in 2009, Israel polluted the Yarmouk River with waste oil and sewage. This polluted water eventually made its way into the Jordan River and Dead Sea.
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Figure 6: Jordan River at the Baptism Site
Yarmouk River The northern portion of the Yarmouk River is the boundary between Jordan and Syria, and the southern portion is the boundary between Jordan and Israel. The total catchment area of the river measures 6,780 km2, 1,160 km2 lie in Jordan upstream of the Adasiya Dam (used to divert water from the Yarmouk to the King Abdullah Canal), and the rest within Syria and in the Jordan River area downstream of Adasiya. The area is mostly agrarian, with some small industries located in the main towns. During floods, small amounts of wastewater runoff reach the river.
The average annual rainfall over the catchment area is 372 mm/year. Precipitation is sometimes in the form of snow. During the last five decades there was an average decrease of 30% in precipitation. The long-term average total flow of the river is 355 MCM/yr comprising of 246 MCM base flow and 109 MCM flood flow.
In 1980 Syria unilaterally started a programme of dam building along the Yarmouk. Syria extracts 160-170 MCM/year from the Yarmouk River and nothing from the Upper Jordan River. Jordan historically extracted 100-110 MCM/year from the Yarmouk River by diverting the water into the King Abdullah Canal. The October 1994 Peace Agreement with Israel, indicates that Jordan will: divert 105 MCM/year from the Yarmouk River; store 20 MCM/year in Lake Tiberias during the winter season; receive 50 MCM/year of water supply from Israel; and get 10 MCM/year from desalinated springs, while Israel will get 25 MCM/yr from the Yarmouk.
The water of the Yarmouk River is of good quality with total dissolved solids within the range of 400-800 ppm.
Figure 7: Yarmouk River Zarka River The catchment area of the Zarka river measures 4,025 km2 and receives an average annual precipitation of 237 mm/year. After the Yarmouk River, this river provides the second largest surface water supply for Jordan. The Zarka has an average natural flow amounting to 92 MCM/year.
The river consists of two main branches; Wadi Dhuliel, the eastern part; and Seil-Zarka, the western part. Both meet at Sukhna to form the Zarqa River. The eastern branch drains only flood flows, while the western branch drains both flood and base flows.
The catchment area for the Zarqa River is the most densely populated area in Jordan, it comprises 10 around 65% of the country’s population, and 80% of its industries. Some agricultural activities take place in the catchment as well. The natural state of the river has been altered by different factors, most notable of which is the drying up of most of its freshwater base flow as a result of overpumping from the aquifer that feeds its springs.
The river is augmented by sewerage effluent from the As-Samra wastewater treatment plant, which treats 75% of all of Jordan’s wastewater, and other smaller treatment plants such as Ba'qa and Jerash. Most industries in the catchment discharge their effluents into the surface water system after they treat it. However, there have been numerous reports that industries are not abiding by the discharge specifications, and the effluent discharged is not treated to the required standard. The river is controlled by the King Talal Reservoir.
Because large quantities of sewerage and industrial effluent enter the Zarqa River, water quality becomes a concern. The ratio of treated wastewater to fresh water in King Talal Reservoir ranges from 45-50% wastewater in the winter to 55-60% in the summer. Zarka River water is used principally for irrigation and stock watering. The government of Jordan has a demonstrated policy for investing and upgrading wastewater treatment plants to improve water quality, especially in the Zarqa River basin.
Figure 8: Zarka River
Dead Sea The Dead Sea is technically an internal lake, fed by the Jordan River and its tributaries and by direct inflow of the runoff of side wadies, the most important of these on the Jordanian side being the Wadi Mujib and Wadi Hasa. The shore of the Dead Sea forms the lowest dry contour on earth.
The Dead Sea is one of the world’s saltiest water bodies with 33.7% salinity, 8.6 times more salty 11 than the ocean. The salinity means no aquatic life and hence, its name.
All the water development projects in Israel, Syria and Jordan have significantly reduced the discharge of the Jordan River into the Dead Sea. The surface level of the Dead Sea has been dropping because of the cumulative effects of diminished inflows and intensified evaporation. Prior to industrialization surface inflows averaged 1670 MCM/yr, 69% of which came from the Jordan River. Now average surface inflow has decreased to 407 MCM/yr, 58% of which comes from the Jordan River. The result has been a drop in the Dead Sea level from 392 m below sea level in 1920 to 416 m in 2003. The surface area of the Dead Sea has also shrunk from 1050 km2 in 1920 to 634 km2 in 2005 with corresponding changes in coastline. The Dead Sea is currently experiencing a drop rate of 1 m per year.
The rapid shrinking of the Dead Sea will have a major effect on the characteristics of the Sea and the surrounding region. The Dead Sea level drop has been followed by a groundwater level drop, causing brines that used to occupy underground layers near the shoreline to be flushed out by freshwater. This is believed to be the cause of the recent appearance of large sinkholes along the shore — incoming freshwater dissolves salt layers, rapidly creating subsurface cavities that subsequently collapse to form these sinkholes.
Figure 9: Dead Sea
The Dead Sea is a major tourism area for Jordan, including several large scale resorts. In the south, the Dead Sea area is used for drying beds by the Arab Potash Company and the Dead Sea Works Inc. to produce potash (K2CO3), a major export earner for both countries. The companies have essential diked the entire southern end of the Dead Sea to form extensive evaporation pans.
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Figure 10: Dead Sea drying Beds and Arab Potash Company
Figure 11: Changes in Dead Sea Wadis A wadi is an Arabic term for a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain. Such intermittent or ephemeral streams in Jordan are spread over three main areas:
1. Wadis in the Jordan River Area i. Wadi El-Arab catchment area borders the Yarmouk catchment and measures around 246 km2. The average amount of precipitation ranges from 500 mm (Irbid highlands) to 350 mm (Jordan Valley). Average discharge is 6 MCM/year. Catchment area is agrarian, but as Irbid city is expanding westward this might change. A dam was constructed in 1987. ii. Wadi Ziqlab catchment area measures 100 km2 and extends from the Jordan Valley eastwards into the highlands. Wadi dischages 8 MCM/year, 7 MCM is base flow. As catchment area is agrarian with natural forests and very little population, the water is of high quality and can be used for different purposes. A dam was constructed in 1966. iii. Wadi Shueib catchment area is approximately 93 km2. Precipitation sometimes falls in the form of snow. The average discharges is 10 MCM/year, 8 MCM is
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the base flow. The effluent from the Salt wastewater treatment plant is discharged into the Wadi. A dam was constructed 1968. iv. Wadi Kafrain catchment area is approximately 159 km2. Precipitation ranges from 550 to 150 mm/year. Average discharge is 15 MCM/year. Different towns and villages discharge their wastes along the wadi thus affecting the water quality. A dam was constructed in 1968. v. There are a number of other small wadis that discharge into the Jordan Valley. These include: Yabis, Kufranja, Jurum, Rajib, and Hisban. Precipitation on these areas ranges from 150 to 550 mm/year. The base flow of these wadis is relatively small and is used for irrigation along the courses of the wadis and at the Jordan River foothills. Flood flows reach the lower stem of the Jordan River.
2. Dead Sea Wadis i. Wadi Mujib & Wadi Hidan (Wala) catchment area is approximately 6,727 km2, it is sparsely inhabited, with moderate agricultural activity and almost no industry. Precipitation ranges from 350 to 100 mm/year. Wadi Hidan joins Wadi Mujib near the Dead Sea, they discharge 65 MCM/year into the Dead Sea; half is base flow. ii. Wadi El-Kerak catchment area measures 19 km2. Precipitation ranges from 350- 90 mm/year. The catchment area is a moderately inhabited agrarian area. The effluent of Karak’s wastewater treatment plant is discharged into the wadi. The lower reaches of the wadi are rich in springs and water seepage’s from the sandstone aquifers. The wadi discharges 7 MCM/year to the Dead Sea, 6 MCM is base flow. The water is used for irrigation. iii. Wadi Zarka Ma'in catchment area is 269 km2. Precipitation ranges from 350 mm/year to 100. The wadi discharges 20 MCM/year into the Dead Sea, 17 MCM is base flow. Base flow is principally thermal springs in the area of the Hammamat Ma'in Spa. The water is brackish (EC 2780 μS/cm), but can be used for salt-tolerant crops. iv. Wadi Hasa catchment area is approximately 2,603 km2, it is sparsely populated with no industries and very low agricultural activities. Precipitation ranges from 300 to 90 mm/year. The average discharge of the wadi is 3 MCM/year most of which is seepage and springs. Some of these springs are mineralized thermal springs. A small spa has been constructed at Wadi Afra (tributary). v. There are numerous other thermal springs in the Dead Sea area discharging an average annual flow of 30 MCM. Water from these springs can be used in irrigating semi-salt-tolerant crops.
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Figure 12: Wadi Mujib
3. Wadi Araba Catchments i. Northern Wadi Araba catchment area is approximately 2,953 km2. Precipitation ranges from 300 to 100 mm/year. Different wadis drain into the northern Wadi Araba, the main ones are Fifa, Khuneizerh, Fidan, and Bweirdh. The average annual discharge is about 11 MCM most of it base flow. Domestic wastewater of Tafila discharges into Wadi Fifa. ii. Southern Wadi Araba catchment area measures 3,742 km2. Precipitation levels range from 150 to 50 mm/year, hence, the area is barren with very low population density. The Wadi discharges about 10 MCM/year into the Red Sea. The Aqaba wastewater treatment plant discharges to the aquifer underlying the catchment. iii. Azraq Basin catchment area measures 13,173 km2 and extends in the north beyond the borders of Jordan. The average precipitation is 90 mm/year. Before the development of the water resources of the basin for use in the capital, the total discharge was 22 MCM/year. The catchment is sparsely populated with some industries. The surface water quality is excellent, but as soon as it mixes with the water in the Oasis it becomes saline. iv. There are several other minor catchments such as: Wadi Yutum in the southwest (discharges 1.5 MCM/year); Jafr Basin in the south (discharges 15 MCM/year); and Hammad Basin spanning Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia (discharges 5 MCM/year).
Arzaq Wetland The spring fed Arzaq Wetland was the largest in the Middle East, originally spread over a 12,710 km2 area. It used to attract up to half a million birds at any one time. Since groundwater pumping began in the 1980s, the water table has fallen approximately 10 m and the oasis completely dried up in 1992. Amman extracts 25 MCM/yr for drinking water in addition to 25 MCM/yr abstracted for irrigation purposes and 8 MCM/yr for other uses. The total abstraction from the Arzaq Wetland is almost double the recharge rate of 34 MCM/yr. It is estimated that 15
500 illegal deep wells still operate in the area.
Over-pumping has resulted in the drying out of the springs feeding the wetland, drying out of vast surface areas of the wetlands, and increased salinity of the groundwater, making the now brackish water unpalatable for wildlife and useless for drinking water or irrigation.
Today, 10% of the oasis has been rejuvenated through the efforts of the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, through the halting of pumping from the wetlands to urban centres. This reduction in pumping from the Arzaq is expected to increase as more water becomes available from other sources for Amman. The Arzaq wetland is protected under the international Ramsar Convention for the protection of internationally important wetlands especially for waterfowl habitat.
Figure 13: Arzaq Wetland Dams and Reservoirs There are several strategically important dams located in Jordan including:
1. King Talal Dam is an earth filled dam that was commissioned in 1977 with a total capacity of 56 MCM, that was raised to 89MCM in 1988. Currently, due to the accumulation of sediments, the capacity is at 75 MCM. The reservoir stores flood runoff from a 3700 km2 catchment area, diversions from Qa’khanna Basin and return flow from municipal and industrial water supplied to Amman and Zarqa. The municipal and industrial effluent is around 50% of the inflow. The water is released from the dam by the JVA as needed to irrigate the middle and southern parts of the Jordan Valley. The dam includes a two unit-power house with a rated capacity of 6 MW. 2. Wadi Arab Dam is an earth filled dam that was constructed in 1986 with a total capacity of 20 MCM. Water is of good quality and is used for irrigation in the Jordan Valley, and for domestic purposes after filtration and chlorination. Effluent from the wastewater treatment plant for Irbid bypasses the dam, but floodwaters wash out of the plant into the dam from time to time. In the last eight to ten years, natural springs discharging in to the Wadi have dried up as a result of a 20 meter drop in the groundwater table due to pumping of groundwater for use by Irbid. Currently, base flow of the Wadi is Zero, and the Dam is filled in winter with KAC water. 3. Ziqlab Dam is a rockfill gravity dam that was constructed in 1966, with a total capacity of 4.3 MCM. The water collected in the dam is of high quality and can be used for domestic and agricultural purposes. 4. Shueib Dam is an earth filled dam that was constructed in 1968, with a capacity of 2.3 MCM. In addition to base and flood flows, the dam receives irrigation return flows and
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effluent from the Salt wastewater treatment plant. The dam is used to recharge the groundwater. 5. Kafrain Dam is an earth filled dam that was constructed in 1968, with a capacity of 4.8 MCM, that was raised in 1996 to 8.5 MCM. The dam stores water from: Wadi Kafrein, ground water wells upstream of the dam and water diverted from Wadi Hisban. Water is used for irrigation and recharge of aquifer. 6. Karameh Dam is an earth filled dam that was completed in 1998 on Wadi Mallahah west of the town of Karameh, with a storage capacity of 55 MCM. The dam stores: excess water from the King Abdullah Canal and floods from side wadis and Zarqa River downstream of the King Talal Reservoir. Water in the dam is saline and is used to irrigate saline tolerant crops in the Middle and southern Jordan Valley areas. 7. There are 13 Highland and Desert Dams that have been constructed in the highlands and desert with a total gross capacity of 30.15 MCM. Stored water is used for livestock, irrigation and ground water recharge. 8. Tannur Dam is a roller compacted concrete dam with a storage capacity of 17 MCM that controls the floods of Wadi Hisa. The dam came into operation in 2001. 9. Wala Dam is a roller compacted concrete dam with a storage capacity of 17 MCM. The water stored is used to recharge the groundwater by artificial filtration through eight wells. The dam came into operation in 2001. 10. Mujib Dam is a roller compacted concrete dam located 100 km south of Amman with a storage capacity of 32 MCM. The dam is designed to store rainwater for domestic, industrial and agricultural purposes. The dam came into operation in 2004. 11. Al Wehdeh Dam is proposed to be built on the Yarmouk River on the Jordanian-Syrian border. The proposed dam will store up to 105 MCM of water (depending on water flow released from Syria), which will be used for manufacturing and agricultural production in the Jordan Valley. 12. Other proposed dams include: Fidan, Ibn Hammad, Karak, Middiean
Existing dams provide an annual supply of 225 MCM of water.
Figure 14: Wadi Mujib Dam, King Talal Dam Water Harvesting There is a long history in the region of collecting and storing rainwater in constructed cisterns and ponds. Such water harvesting collection systems are growing in number across Jordan in both rural and urban landscapes. Such systems are generally initiated at a grass roots level through different community organizations including farm families, cooperatives, farmer groups or individual households. This small-scale, decentralized approach spreads the low-scale technology benefits of rainwater harvesting into some of the more isolated corners of Jordan.
Groundwater Groundwater resources amounted to 54% of the water resources of Jordan in 2005. Twelve groundwater basins have been identified in Jordan as indicated in Table 3, these include two 17 fossil aquifers: Al-Disi and Al-Jafar. Four of the groundwater basins receive recharge from Syria, and two share fossil aquifers with Saudi Arabia. The annual safe yield of the renewable groundwater supply is estimated to be 275 MCM. Groundwater extractions have exceeded 400 MCM each year since the mid 1990s.
Table 3: Groundwater Basins in Jordan Ground Water Basins Safe Total Balance % of Safe Yield Extraction MCM/ Yield MCM/ MCM/1998 year year Yarmouk Basin 40 55 -15 137% Side Wadis Basin (North 15 12 3 80% Jordan Valley Basin) Jordan Valley Basin 21 38 -17 181% Amman-Zarqa Basin 87 138 -51 159% Dead Sea Basin 57 85 -28 149% Northern Wadi Araba 4 4 0 100% Basin Southern Wadi Araba 6 5 1 83% Basin Al Jafer Basin 9 23 -14 256% (Renewable) Fossil - - - (Non-Renewable) Azraq Basin 24 56 -32 233% Al Sarhan Basin 5 1.5 3.5 30% Al Hammad Basin 8 1.3 6.7 16% Disi Fossil 65 - -
Shallow groundwater aquifers are the most easily accessible and vary in depth from approximately 5-150 m. Such aquifers are under increasing pressure in Jordan with the result of reduced baseflow to surface water streams, falling water tables, and increased salinity. Non- renewable, deep aquifers are those at depths greater than 150 m, such as the Disi aquifer, which is anywhere from 400-500 m in depth.
In 1998, over-draft was about 157 MCM in six basins. As of 2005, 10 groundwater basins were in deficit conditions. Consequently, the water level in these basins is declining, there is reduced surface water flow, and some aquifers are showing deterioration of their water quality due to increased salinity. Recharge reflects the estimated safe yield for each basin. So far, the studies that have been conducted conclude that the safe yield for Jordan’s renewable groundwater resources is 275 MCM/year.
The water table is dropping throughout Jordan. The average maximum decline in groundwater levels ranges from 2.5 m in the southern part of the Side Wadis Basin to more than 100 m in the Jafr Basin. In a recent study of 104 springs in the Shoubak area, 22 have gone dry and 47 show diminished flows since large-scale agricultural irrigation began in the 1980s. Salinity has increased more than 7-fold between 1970 and 1998 at one observation will in the Amman-Zarqa basin. In the Hamad and Jafr Basins, the average increase in concentrations of TDS was around 400 mg/L. 18
Groundwater quality may vary within an aquifer. In general, Jordan possesses significant groundwater resources with good quality. However, this quality is threatened by over-abstraction of the resource, pollution from human settlements with its related activities and irrigation runoffs.
In 2005, there were 2779 licensed, operational groundwater wells and more than 1000 unlicensed, illegal wells. In an attempt to regulate groundwater abstraction, the government in 1994 enforced the regulation requiring all licensed well to have meters. Presently, over 90% of licensed wells are metered.
In recent years, several other measures have been implemented to protect aquifers from degradation and over-abstraction including delineation of groundwater protection zones, preparation of groundwater vulnerability maps, groundwater use tariffs, and groundwater monitoring by the MWI.
Fossil Aquifers There are two fossil aquifers in Jordan:
1. Disi aquifer in the south of Jordan is the main non-renewable groundwater resource in Jordan. The Disi is shared between Jordan and Saudi Arabia. On the Jordanian side, Disi supplies Aqaba with 14 MCM/year for municipal and industrial uses and 51 MCM/year for irrigation purposes. Recent estimates indicate that an annual abstraction of 125 MCM can be supported over a 50- year period. In Saudi Arabia, annual abstractions are estimated to exceed 700 MCM/year. 2. Jafer basin is the other non-renewable groundwater resource in Jordan. This aquifer can supply Jordan with 18 MCM/year, over the next 40 years.
Figure 15: Disi Aquifer Area and Agricultural Production
Canals and Pipelines Canals and pipelines are used to convey water from a source located in one area to users that can be hundreds of kilometres away.
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King Abdullah Canal (KAC) A 1953-55 Master Plan for the Yarmouk and Jordan River Valleys recommended the development of an intensive irrigation project covering 460,000 dunums on both banks of the Jordan River Valley. In 1957, the first stage of the construction of the Canal was initiated with the construction of the first 69 km segment. At the time the Canal was called the East Ghor Canal. In 1973, construction started on the second stage, an 18 km extension. The third stage was the construction of 14.5 km extension for the canal; this was completed in 1988.
KAC is a concrete lined, trapezoidal, gravity-fed waterway canal with a design capacity that ranges from 20 m3/s at the intake to 2.3 m3/s at the downstream end near the Dead Sea.
The water quality in the canal north of the Deir Alla intake is a blend of good quality water from the Yarmouk River, the Tiberias North Conveyor (peace water), Mukheibeh wells, Wadi Al-Arab dam and other side wadi supplies. This water is pumped for municipal uses in Amman via the Deir Alla-Amman Conveyance Project. South of Deir Allah, KAC receives King Talal Reservoir water that consists of flood water from the Zarqa River mixed with poor quality treated wastewater from Amman.
The construction of the canal prompted the development of the Jordan Valley from subsistence- level farming by a few nomads to a vibrant agricultural centre, which drew people into the Valley thus increasing its inhabitants.
Figure 16: King Abdullah Canal
Wadi Ma’in Conveyance Project The Wadi Ma’in, Zara and Mujib Water Treatment and Conveyance Project entailed the construction of a water treatment plant near the Dead Sea to treat saline water from three nearby wadis. Treated water is then to be transferred to Dead Sea resort areas and Amman along a 41 km water conveyance system. The system supplies 47 MCM/year and was completed in 2007.
Disi Water Conveyance Project The Disi aquifer is an extensive fossil-water aquifer shared by Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Water extraction from the Disi aquifer of 125 MCM per year has been teamed technically and environmentally reasonable. Currently, Jordan is pumping 77 MCM from the Disi aquifer. It is estimated that Saudi Arabia is pumping 600-700 MCM annually.
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Saudi Arabia and Jordan can be considered in a groundwater conflict and pumping race with each other over the Disi aquifer. Jordan has accused Saudi Arabia of over-exploitation of the aquifer in 1992 and 1999, with no official reply from Saudi Arabia. The majority of the water pumped by both sides from the Desi is for agricultural use. Saudi Arabia is using Disi water to grow wheat in the desert, in a case where the value of the water is several times more valuable than the value of the wheat produced.
The Disi Water Conveyance Project entails constructing a 325-kilometre pipeline that will convey approximately 100 MCM of water from the Disi aquifer in the south of Jordan to Amman. This pumping capacity is expected to be sustainable for 50-150 years. Water demand has been outstripping supply in the Greater Amman Area since 1988, especially during summer months. The Disi project will also relieve upland aquifers that currently supply water to Amman from over abstraction. Construction on the project was initiated in 2009.
Figure 17: Disi Water Conveyance Pipeline Under Construction
Red Sea-Dead Sea Conveyance Project The import of water to the Dead Sea from the Red Sea was negotiated in bilateral peace talks between Jordan and Israel, and a separate article was included in the peace treaty on this matter. A feasibility study is currently underway for the construction of a canal or pipeline linking the Red Sea at Aqaba with the Dead Sea. The purpose of the canal or pipeline is to generate electricity and desalinate approximately 850 MCM per year of water of which 650 MCM per year would be allocated to Jordan. Capital costs are estimated to be $3-5 billion. The project would also restore the volume of the Dead Sea to historical average levels. It now appears that Jordan is intending to go ahead with this project independently, without involvement from Israel. Egypt has expressed some concerns over the project with respect to lowering water levels in the Gulf of Aqaba and other environmental concerns.
The details of the Red Sea-Dead Sea Conveyance Project have yet to be finalized, and there are many questions left to be resolved from a political, engineering, and environmental effects stand point. Some key engineering aspects of the project to be decided on are the portion of the conveyance system that is to be canal versus pipeline, and how to discharge water into the Dead Sea– either through a wadi or from diffuser pipes from the bottom of the sea bed to promote mixing. Expected environmental effects include:
• Stratification of water into high and low density layers • Friction between the two different density layers causing heat– estimated up to 66 ºC • Eventual diffusion and mixing of high concentrations of salt over time • Transfer of aquatic organisms from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea, but eventual die off once the salt concentration in the Dead Sea equalizes • Lowering of water levels in the Gulf of Aqaba 21
• Discharge of desalination waste streams into the Dead Sea affecting mixing of high and low density layers
Figure 18: Disi Aquifer and Proposed Red-Dead Conveyance Project
Unaccounted for Water Unaccounted for water comprises of administrative and physical network losses and averages 30- 50% of total water supplied throughout Jordan and 42% in Amman. There are significant water saving to be had in the rehabilitation of municipal water networks in order to reduce unaccounted for water from leaks and illegal connections. Savings from network rehabilitation are extremely cost effective in Jordan when compared to the cost of developing new water supplies.
Unaccounted for water from water distribution network leakage helps contribute to groundwater recharge.
Wastewater In a water stressed country such as Jordan, wastewater is an important component of the Kingdom’s water resources. Fully treated wastewater is suitable for unrestricted use in agriculture and to recharge aquifers for later use. About 122 MCM/year of wastewater is treated and discharged into various water courses or used directly for irrigation, mostly in the Jordan Valley. Currently, around 70% of the urban population is provided with sewerage collection. Approximately just over half of all households in Jordan have their wastewater treated. The reuse of treated municipal wastewater compensates the Jordan Valley with about 65% of the water that was originally pumped to Amman.
There are nineteen wastewater treatment plants in Jordan serving around 26 cities as indicated in Table 4; many of these plants are overloaded. Moreover, industrial wastewater in Jordan is discharged into public sewers, used for gardening or dumped by vacuum trucks. Regulations concerning discharge of industrial effluent into public sewers are insufficient and need revision.
As the volume of water used by Jordan’s municipal and industrial sectors’ increase, the volume of wastewater also grows. By the year 2024, the population is projected to be about 8 million. 65% will be provided with sewerage services generating around 245 MCM/year of wastewater, of 22 which 175 MCM will be available to replace fresh water used for irrigation.
The salinity of the wastewater effluent in Jordan is higher than normal as the average domestic consumption is low, and the treatment technology is primarily stabilization ponds which loses a portion of wastewater to evaporation. This saline effluent impacts cropping patterns in the areas using the effluent. Also, it requires special irrigation techniques for many agricultural products.
Table 4: Wastewater Treatment Plants in Jordan Treatment Plant Type* Design Average Effluent Disposal Capacity Inflow 1999 (m3/day) (m3/day) As-Samra WSP+A 68,000 166,844 local irrigation, KTD S Aqaba WSP 9,000 8,774 local Irrigation, Palm forest Ramtha WSP 1,900 2,174 local irrigation Mafraq WSP 1,800 1,933 local irrigation Madaba WSP 2,000 3,609 local irrigation Ma’an WSP 1,600 1,738 local irrigation Irbid (Central) TF+AS 11,000 4,612 Jordan Valley for irrigation Irbid (Wadi Al- EA 21,000 5,993 Jordan Valley for Arab) irrigation Baq’a TF 15,000 10,284 KTD Abu Nuseir AS+RB 4,000 1,411 Wadi Berein C
Jeresh EA+MP 3,500 1,6036 KTD Salt EA+MP 7,700 3,166 Wadi Shueib Karak TF 800 1,146 Wadi Al Karak Tafilah TF 1,600 815 Ghor Fifa Kufranjah TF 1,800 1,734 Wadi Kufranjah Fuheis AS 2,400 1,019 Wadi Shueib Wadi Sir WSP+E 4,000 914 local irrigation A Wadi OD 1,600 - JUST for Irrigation Hasan/Nueimeh Wadi Mousa EA 3400 - Local Irrigation *WSP- Wastewater stabilization pond AS- Activated sludge OD- Oxidation ditch RBC- Rotating biological contactors EA- Extended aeration TF- Trickling filters MP- Maturation ponds
In Jordan, reclaimed water volumes are predicted to increase more than four times by 2010 if 23 demands are to be met.
Figure 19: Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant
Desalinated Water As of 2007, Jordan produced 11 MCM/yr of desalinated water mostly sourced from brackish groundwater. Increased large-scale desalination will require sea-water as a source, making new supplies of water via desalination very costly. Disposal of brine resulting from the desalination process is also an emerging issue.
Peace Water The peace deal between Israel and Jordan stipulates that Israel can extract 12 MCM of water from the Yarmouk River in summer, and Jordan uses the rest. In winter, Israel takes 33 MCM from the river, of which 20 MCM are stored for Jordan in Lake Tiberias for the Kingdom's use in summer. This water is pumped from Lake Tiberias to the King Abdullah Canal.
Under the terms of the 1994 peace treaty with Israel, up to 50 MCM of fresh water will also be made available each year from Israel in addition to what is currently received under the treaty. In 1997, the two countries agreed that the 50 MCM should be obtained through the desalination of brackish water flowing into the Jordan River from the Israeli side. At the same time, they agreed that until a desalination plant is set up, Israel will supply the Kingdom with 25 mcm a year from Lake Tiberias. The use of this so called “peace treaty water” will allow Jordan to replace significant amounts of current supplies of groundwater with surface water as a source for municipal and industrial users.
In 1999, during the worst drought in the region in 50 years, Israel claimed it could not meet its water commitments to Jordan under the peace deal.
Water Use in Jordan Water use in Jordan is divided between three main users: domestic, industrial and agricultural. Other users can include livestock and tourism. In the allocation of new water resources, the Government of Jordan gives municipal and industry demand priority over agriculture. No attention is paid to environmental water for natural ecosystem use. Water use by sector is
24 highlighted in Table 5 and Table 6.
The contribution to GDP and employment of industrial water use in Jordan is much greater than that of agricultural water use. Agriculture requires 240 MCM to contribute 1% to GCP and employs just 148 workers per MCM used. Industry requires 2.5 MCM to contribute to 1% GDP and contributes 3777 jobs per MCM used.
Table 5: Ground and Surface Water Use in Jordan in 2005 Uses (MCM) Consumpti Percent on in 2005 age (%) Municipal 291 31 Agriculture 603 64 Industrial 38 4 Livestock 8 1 Total 940 -
Table 6: Projected Water Demand in Jordan (MCM) 2010 2015 2020 Municipal 405 444 493 Industrial 77 100 120 Agricultural 1072 1040 983 Tourism 10 16 20 Total 1564 1600 1616
Jordan is one of the most water scarce countries in the world with only 160 m3 of available water per person per year, as of 2005.
Domestic Water Use In 2005, the water consumption of the domestic sector was approximately 291 MCM, around 31% of total water used in the country. 79% of the water used for domestic purposes is groundwater since, with the exception of the Yarmouk River water pumped to Amman, all drinking water in Jordan is groundwater (including springs).
Demand in most urban areas cannot be met during more than half the year. Consequently, water supplies are provided on an intermittent basis 8 months a year. When distribution systems in the country frequently run dry there is an issue with vacuum pressure sucking sewage and other contaminants in the soil around pipes into the distribution network. This shortage in water supplies is aggregated by the rapid increase in population, the inefficiency of the water distribution system, and inadequate infrastructure. All this contributes to the poor perception of drinking water quality in Jordan.
The average daily supply for domestic use is 126 L/capita/day, of this 55% is unaccounted for water. Hence, the per capita consumption is between 60 and 90 L/day. Reducing unaccounted for water is one of the best means to augment municipal water supplies and improve the financial viability of water supply services.
Industrial Water Use Industrial water use consumed 38 MCM in 2005, a mere 4% of the water supply. Most of this demand is in the southern three governorates. More than half the industrial use of water is for the potash and phosphate industry, with much of the remainder for electrical power plants.
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As Jordan pursues rapid economic growth, tremendous growth is anticipated in the industrial sector especially with the accession to the World Trade Organization, the Free Trade Agreement with the US and the Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ). Currently, there are 10 QIZ, not all operational. Accordingly, it is foreseen that demand for water by the industrial sector will steadily increase over the coming years.
Mining Mining and mineral resource extraction makes up a significant proportion of the Jordanian economy.
Phosphate mining in Jordan has been underway since ancient times, and is mainly concentrated in the south of the country. Significant amounts of water are used to wash the phosphate produced which is then discharged to wadis. During precipitation events, the first flush of runoff in areas affected by phosphate mining typically get a strong pulse of phosphate and acid mine drainage from the tailings.
Mineral production from the Dead Sea includes potash for agriculture and industry, industrial salt, bromine and NPK fertilizers. Mining for uranium is currently underway in the middle of the country. There is also potential for shale oil extraction in the middle of the Kingdom in the Wadi Mujib area. Shale oil extraction techniques are typically highly water intensive.
Energy Jordan is a country not only under water stress, but also energy stress. It is one of the few countries in the middle east without any easily extractable oil resources.
There are 2 major hydropower generating stations in Jordan. The electrical generating plant in Aqaba, which produces about 40% of Jordan's energy, obtains water from the Aqaba municipal supply, i.e. from Disi well fields. The other major power plant is the Hussein plant in the Zarqa Basin, which generates about one third of Jordan's electricity. The water in its wells requires reverse osmosis and ion exchange to produce water of adequate quality for use in cooling. Hydropower generation from the Red-Dead Conveyance Project is also a key component of this planned mega-project.
With the advent of uranium mining in Jordan, a possible nuclear power station in Aqaba has also been hypothesized. Power from this station could be used for desalination of Red Sea water.
Agricultural Water Use Agricultural water use consumed about 603 MCM in 2005 or 64% of all water used. There are 52,700 irrigated hectares in the highlands and the desert area, and 31,600 irrigated hectares in the Jordan Valley and Southern Ghors. These account for about 53% of groundwater use in Jordan.
Agricultural products from Jordan includes: wheat, barley, citrus– oranges and limes, tomatoes, melons, olives, bananas, sugar, figs, cucumber, strawberries, dates, carrots, potato; sheep, goats, and poultry. There are several large-scale industrial poultry operations located in central Jordan.
Privately managed farms in the highlands are mostly irrigated from private groundwater wells, while the irrigated area in the desert is irrigated by fossil groundwater from the Dissi aquifer. Currently, surface water and groundwater each provide 40% of irrigation needs with the remaining 20% sourced from treated wastewater.
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The publicly managed irrigation system in the Jordan Valley uses mostly surface and recycled wastewater whereby irrigation water is supplied to farmers by KAC. Furthermore there are around 195 privately managed agricultural wells in the Jordan Valley and Southern Ghors. In 1997-1999, the average annual abstraction from the Jordan Valley and Southern Ghors wells, including Jordan Valley Authority wells, was approximately 25 MCM.
Water availability in Jordan is becoming scarcer, and competition between the three sectors: municipal, industrial, and agricultural, is intensifying. Reducing the existing irrigated area to save water is politically difficult, with painful social consequences. However, reducing the irrigated area is not the only option for saving water as improving on-farm water management and adopting modern technologies can save water. These two factors can reduce the amount of water used by agriculture, releasing much needed water to the municipal and industrial sector, without reducing agricultural output. Use of irrigated water has evolved in Jordan since the 1960s from open canals and furrow and basin irrigation methods, to the use of pressure pipe systems for conveyance and drip and micro-sprinkler irrigation.
Currently, Jordan has a structural food deficit and cannot produce the food it needs to satisfy domestic demand. To help counter this, Jordan has altered its trade and development policies to promote the import of water intensive products, generally agricultural crops, and the export of crops of high water productivity, that is, high income per unit of water consumed in production.
Water Demand Supply Analysis According to the Jordanian Water Strategy (2009), available water resources in 2007 were 867 MCM. With the addition of the Disi water conveyance by 2013, the Red-Dead conveyance by 2022, and full utilization of treated wastewater effluent by 2022, available water resources in Jordan should be at 1632 MCM by 2022.
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Figure 20: Available Water Resources in Jordan in 2007 and 2022
Water demand in Jordan is comprised of irrigation, municipal, industrial and touristic demand. The deficit between supply and demand in 2007 was 638 MCM. By 2022, the projected water deficit between supply from demand is estimated at 503 MCM without the Red-Dead conveyance and 3 MCM with the Red-Dead conveyance.
Some hydrologists have identified 1000 cubic meters per person per year as a minimum water requirement for an efficient moderately industrialized nation. Jordan is already at less than a quarter of this amount. While there is potential for the available water supply in Jordan to increase with mega-engineering projects such as the Desi conveyance and Red-Dead conveyance, the per capita amount of water will continue to decline due to the rapid increase in population.
Table 7: Per Capita Water Availability in Jordan Year Population Available Water (m3/capita) 1990 3,696,000 260 2025 8,000,000 80
Players in the Jordanian Water Sector Water stressed countries such as Jordan cannot afford to make mistakes in water planning and management. Water officials must be alert to different ways and means to exercise prudent management, minimize adverse impacts and maximize gains. In 2002, the government of Jordan adopted the Water Sector Action Plan which sets out specific policies relating to the sector, and which is still being used as the template for water management to date.
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Ministry of Water and Irrigation In 1988, the Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI) was created bringing The Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ) and the Jordan Valley Authority (JVA) under one umbrella. MWI, WAJ and JVA each has an independent Secretary General who reports directly to the Minister of Water and Irrigation. The Ministry does not have authorizing Parliamentary legislation, but operates under a set of bylaws approved by the executive branch. The Minister is the ultimate authority on water resources use conflict in the country.
Water Authority of Jordan The WAJ was created in 1984 as an independent body under the Prime Minister. In 1988, it was brought under the newly created MWI. WAJ is responsible for municipal and industrial water supplies and wastewater. It plans water and wastewater projects, implements and operates all water supply and wastewater facilities in Jordan, explores existing water resources, and maintains and operates water and wastewater networks throughout the Kingdom.
Jordan Valley Authority The JVA was created in 1977. At the time JVA was charged with the social and economic development in the Jordan Rift Valley from the Yarmouk River in the north to Aqaba in the south. The eastern boundary of JVA’s area of responsibility is located between the 300m and 500m contour lines above sea level. In 2001, JVA’s law was amended and under the new law JVA maintained the responsibility for the management of water and land resources in the valley as well as the responsibility for the tourist development of the Jordan Rift Valley.
Other Government Ministries Regulatory functions for water resources in Jordan are scattered across several ministries and offices in addition to the MWI including:
• The Ministry of Health (MOH) monitors the suitability of the drinking water that is supplied by WAJ. MOH also monitors public and private wastewater facilities to assure its compliance with the prevailing standards and regulations. Public Law No. 21 of 1971 and its articles provide the ministry with a wide range of powers to enforce the laws and regulations entrusted to it. Other regulations are issued in coordination between the MOH and the MWI to regulate the use of treated wastewater flows for irrigation. • Agriculture Law No. 20 of 1973 authorizes the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) to exploit surface water resources through construction and operation of small dams and other facilities for production of stock feed crops. It also empowers the Ministry to drill wells and equip them for provision of livestock water. Land use and planning for agricultural, grazing lands, and forests are under the jurisdiction of the MOA. Ultimately, MOA policies have a profound effect on the water resources of the country since they affect water policies as well as the planning and management of water resources. • Ministry of Environment was established in 2003 with the mandate of environmental protection in the country, setting environmental policy, coordinating national efforts to preserve the environment, protect water resources, and prohibit activities that cause pollution or degradation of water resources. • Ministry of Industry • Ministry of Tourism • Ministry of Municipal Affairs
The General Corporation for Environmental Protection (GCEP) The Corporation was established 1995 in response to the Jordan Environment Law No. 12, in a governmental attempt to unify and coordinate responsibilities and efforts being undertaken in the 29 field of the environment. Accordingly, GCEP is the responsible body in Jordan that oversees the government’s environmental policies. Before the establishment of the GCEP, those responsibilities were the mandate of the Department of Environment at the Ministry of Municipal, Rural and Environmental Affairs.
Royal Scientific Society (RSS) Established in 1989, it comprises of three divisions: Water Quality, Air Quality, and Studies and Design. The Water Quality division is responsible for conducting studies and research on a contract basis to public and private entities. Correspondingly, it monitors groundwater and surface water resources for GCEP, WAJ and JVA and evaluates the performance of wastewater treatment plants. As the studies are conducted on behalf of another party, the results of the studies are the property of the contracting agency and RSS cannot publish or disseminate the information without prior approval. The RSS have their own laboratories to monitor water quality.
Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature A non-governmental organization established in 1965. The RSCN plays a role in trying to conserve habitat for aquatic life in addition to their other mandated work in nature conservation, research and environmental education.
International Aid Agencies International aid agencies active in Jordan include:
• USAID • German Government • French Development Agency • World Bank • European Union- European Investment Bank • Japanese International Cooperation Agency • UNDP • Mediterranean Environmental Technical Assistance Program • CIDA • Islamic Development Bank • Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development • Saudi Fund for Development • Abu Dhabi Fund • Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development • Governments of Italy, Norway, South Korea, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, China Government
The focus of most donor agency aid is on larger infrastructure projects such as building desalination plants, building water conveyance pipelines, rehabilitation of wastewater treatment plants, water loss reduction initiatives, capacity building of Jordanian nationals involved in the water sector, and improving water efficiency in agriculture.
Water Monitoring Networks in Jordan The water quantity gauging network in Jordan grew rather haphazardly out of different donor agency projects beginning in 1952 with flow measurements on the Yarmouk River. As of 2002, the MWI were responsible for:
• 220 rainfall stations
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• 44 gauging stations along with discharge measurements of around 500 springs • 34 evaporation stations • 117 water level-monitoring wells
In parallel with these efforts, water quality monitoring is also performed, taking into account different basins, sources, and water uses in the monitoring network. There are at least 9 monitoring stations along the Jordan River and 10 along the King Abdullah Canal. A network of observation wells has also been installed in each of the groundwater basins for the purpose of monitoring groundwater quality. The status of these monitoring stations, however, is not known
In addition to regular monitoring stations, the MWI and Royal Scientific Society (RSS) have also installed telemetry monitoring stations as part of two pilot projects. 5 monitoring water quality monitoring stations were installed with Norwegian aid and belong to the MWI; however, these stations are now out of service. The RSS runs a network of 13 water quality only telemetry monitoring stations on strategic surface water bodies in the north of Jordan. These stations were installed in 2002 with Japanese aid. These stations are not in situ, however, they do monitor pH, conductivity, total phosphorous, total nitrogen and COD, but not dissolved oxygen. A map of the RSS real time water quality monitoring network can be found in Figure 21.
With the exception of the above telemetry stations, all water data is collected and transferred manually from stations distributed all over Jordan on a daily, monthly, quarterly, seasonal or yearly basis. Some data is recorded automatically and some manually in the field. All data is sent to the data section of the MWI, and entered into the Water Information System. Verification procedures on collected data input into the system is limited.
The MWI publishes several reports annually, including Jordan’s Water Strategy in 2009. The Water Strategy document is updated every few years and provides an assessment of the state of water resources, attempts to balance demands with supply and options to achieve this. Reports and data produced by the Ministry can be made available to the public upon request. There is limited information also available on the Ministry web site.
The MWI undertakes ambient water quality analysis in its own laboratories under the direction of the WAJ. The WAJ is the main institution responsible for monitoring various water-related standards and is implementing several diversified water quality monitoring programs on surface water, groundwater and treated wastewater.
Drinking water quality is tested in the laboratories of the Ministry of Health and by some municipalities in Jordan with their own laboratory facilities. The Ministry of Environment, through subcontract with the Royal Scientific Society, monitors the quality of drinking water, bottled water, domestic and industrial wastewater, surface water and groundwater. The Jordan University Water Research Center performs quality analysis of water resources independently as part of its educational and research programs.
Water use is highly monitored by the Jordan Valley Authority in the Jordan Valley through use of a SCADA system. As well, under the law all licensed groundwater wells are supposed to be equipped with a water meters.
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Figure 21: Telemetry Water Quality Monitoring Stations
Water Quality Guidelines National standards and specifications have been set for water use for different purposes in the country including:
• Drinking water quality (JS 286:2001)– sets the quality requirements for water used for drinking water • Industrial wastewater (JS 202:2004)– sets quality requirements for the disposal of industrial effluents into wadis, rivers or the sea, for groundwater recharge or use in irrigation • Reclaimed domestic wastewater (JS 893:2002)– sets maximum allowable limits for quality of reclaimed water that is discharged to water bodies or used in irrigation
Each of the standards also specifies the mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation. 32
Water Data Tools In the early 1990s, Jordan developed the Water Data Bank– an interactive water resources data bank capable of performing automated quires by users, and producing reporting tools such as annual and monthly automated publications. Fine-tuning, upgrading and updating of this system have been ongoing resulting in the current Water Information System, managed by the MWI. Other water tools that have been developed for water planning and management include fairly extensive use of GIS, SCADA and a Laboratory Information Management System.
In general, water officials in Jordan have been reluctant to release information about water resources to the public, such information being deemed sensitive or even classified. This attitude has gradually been changing, especially in light of the peace deal with Israel and improving relations with Syria with the implementation of the Wehdeh Dam. Another factor affecting release of water data in Jordan is the quality of the data. Certain data are purely absent and nonexistent. Although there is no official policy to withhold water data, in practice there has been limited official publication and dissemination of information.
Water Resources in the Middle East Region The Kingdom of Jordan shares boarders with: Israel, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the West Bank. These are some of the most water stressed countries in the world. With ever increasing demand for water and limited supply, management of water resources in the region is critical for peace and stability.
Supplies of renewable water in the region are fully used or already overexploited, and demand will only continue to rise. Accordingly, the water situation in the region is precarious.
About 43% of the renewable supplies are provided from surface water, which largely originates in areas outside the core party territories, and which are vulnerable to abstraction by upstream riparian users. Claims on rivers and aquifers crossing national borders have already caused conflicts within the region. The limits on economically exploitable renewable water in the region have almost been reached. Therefore, water conservation and reallocation between sub-sectors and sub-regions will become increasingly important as the only feasible alternative to non- conventional sources.
Deteriorating water quality in the region is becoming a serious issue, and existing economically exploitable resources might become unsuitable in the future due to increasing pollution. If current trends continue, groundwater in some areas may not be adequate for human use any more.
Water Use in the Region About 975 MCM/year of surface water resources are developed and used in the region originating from the four main water units:
1. Upper Jordan River 2. Lake Tiberias 3. Yarmouk River 4. Lower Jordan River.
Additional surface water resources that can be developed are approximately 225 MCM/year, thus resulting in a total renewable surface water resources of about 1,200 MCM/year.
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About 1,600 MCM/year of groundwater resources (renewable and non-renewable aquifers) are currently used in the region. The largest share of about 1,234 MCM/year are used in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. 465 MCM/year are used in Jordan.
Most of the groundwater resources in the region are fully exploited and some aquifers are overexploited, particularly in Jordan and the Gaza Strip. Total exploitable groundwater resources, which includes the development of non-renewable water resources and the use of brackish water, is estimated at about 1,787 MCM/year.
The safe yield of all renewable water resources (surface and groundwater) in the region has been estimated at 2,800 MCM/year.
Treated wastewater is becoming increasingly important in the region. Currently, treated wastewater accounts for about 8% of total supplies, the largest share being mobilized in Israel.
At present, 3,134 MCM of water are used in the region, exceeding the regional renewable water resources of about 2,800 MCM. Irrigation water use accounts for 66%, domestic water use for 27%, and industrial water use for 5%. Conveyance losses are reported to account for 2%.
On a region wide basis, current gross per capita domestic water use is estimated at 72 m3/year, with significant differences among the core parties. By 2010, 4,382 MCM of water will be required, and an estimated additional 564 MCM of water have to be mobilized between 2000 and 2010.
Middle East Peace Process The 1967 war with Israel has left a lasting legacy on water management in the Middle East including a militarized river boarder, a tragedy of the commons type race to utilize shared water resource before a neighbour does, environmental degradation, and distrust amongst riparian users of shared resources as just some of the consequences. Continued turbulence in the region involving Palestine and Iraq has also played a significant role.
In 1991 Israel and Jordan joined Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and a Palestinian delegation at a conference in Madrid that launched the Middle East Peace Process. In 1993, Jordan endorsed the peace accord between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Later, Jordan signed an agenda with Israel for future negotiations in Washington.
The government of Jordan has maintained a policy of responding to transboundary water issues in a pacifist fashion, avoiding clashes with neighbours over water sharing.
Jordan and Israel Up until 1994, conflict between Jordan and Israel over transboundary waters was managed through the Armistice Agreement of 1949 under the auspices of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization, a mechanism that yielded positive results most of the time.
In 1994, Jordan and Israel signed the Jordanian-Israeli Peace Treaty on the border between Aqaba and Eilat. This treaty formally ends the state of war between Israel and Jordan which existed since 1948. Likewise, the treaty binds each country:
• to recognize the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of the other; • to respect one another’s right “to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries”; 34
• to develop “good neighbourly relations of cooperation”.
In relation to water, the treaty addresses:
• developing water resources; • preventing contamination or pollution of water resources; • jointly monitoring water quality along the boundary; • providing water of equivalent quality when exchanged between two countries; • prohibiting the discharge of municipal or industrial wastewater into the Yarmouk or Jordan Rivers before treatment to standards allowing unrestricted agricultural use.
A Joint Water Committee was established under the Treaty between Jordan and Israel for mutual cooperation and consideration of problems in implementation. No major problems have been reported in the work of the Committee, and water flow has been maintained across the boarder since 1995. At times, the countries will share transboundary water quality data, but prefer to rely on information from their own laboratories.
Problems did emerge in 1999, when the treaty’s limitations were revealed by events concerning water shortages in the Jordan basin. A reduced supply of water to Israel due to drought meant that, in turn, Israel which is responsible for providing water to Jordan, decreased its water provisions to the country, provoking a diplomatic disagreement between the two and bringing the water component of the treaty back into question.
Jordan and Syria Bilateral agreements between Jordan and Syria over the Yarmouk were signed in 1953 and 1987. As an upstream riparian, however, Syria has been steadily increasing its withdrawals, reducing the supply of water to Jordan. Jordan has attempted to resolve transboundary water issues with Syria, particularly over use of the Yarmouk River, through diplomatic means to little or no avail. Pollution of the Yarmouk River inside Syria is also a concern.
Groundwater abstraction in Syria in the Yarmouk Basin from the aquifer that feeds the lower springs has also drastically reduced the base flow of the Yarmouk River at Jordan’s expense. Groundwater was overlooked in both the 1953 and 1987 agreements with Syria.
Water Issues in Jordan Identified water resources issues that need to be addressed in Jordan include:
• Jordan’s surface water and groundwater resources are almost fully developed and allocated to supply various users.
• Water is provided at almost no cost to agriculture and at very low cost to urban consumers.
• Point (wastewater treatment plants, cesspools, industrial wastewater discharge, landfill leachate, urban storm water discharge) and non-point (irrigation water runoff, stormwater runoff) sources pollution are contributing to water quality degradation.
• Increasing soil salinity is making land less productive in some areas.
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• Aquifer water quality is deteriorating in places like Dhuleil and Hallabat due to decreased recharge rates (due to urban expansion) and over abstraction.
• Groundwater is being depleted at an alarming rate in Jordan.
• Low water efficiency in agriculture and other uses including high percentages of unaccounted for water from irrigation and municipal systems.
• Climate change.
• Use of information technology for improved data and information management systems to increase efficiency of employees and improve decision making.
• Lack of sufficient wastewater treatment has lead to water pollution.
• QA/QC of collected water resources data, both historical data and newly collected data.
• No written procedures for data collection, verification and documentation.
• Funding for water resources monitoring, infrastructure, etc.
• Lack of government policy on water data dissemination.
• Lack of telemetry systems for real time water data collection and transmission, especially from remote locations.
• Lack of national capacity and human resources for running and managing water information management systems, including real time and telemetry systems.
• Gaps in the water data monitoring networks.
• Competition between water users, in particular, municipal and agriculture users.
Strengths of Jordanian Water Sector Identified strengths of the Jordanian water sector include:
• Jordan has developed a clear vision for water resources management at national and provincial levels.
• Jordan has national water policies, plans and strategies in place that incorporate many elements of IWRM.
• In principle the government of Jordan is in support of data and information sharing.
• Jordan has ratified the UN Convention on the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses.
• Jordan runs public awareness campaigns on conserving water.
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References Haddadin, M.J., 2006, Water Resources in Jordan: Evolving Policies for Development, the Environment , and Conflict Resolution, RFF Press, USA.
Jordan Times, March 19, 2009, Israel compensating Kingdom for polluted water, http://www.jordanembassyus.org/new/newsarchive/2009/03192009001.htm
Royal Commission for Water, February 2009, Water for Life: Jordan’s Water Strategy 2008- 2022, Ministry of Water and Irrigation.
Tutundjian, Setta, 2001, Water Resources in Jordan
UNWWAP, 2006, Water- A Shared Responsibility: The United Nations World Water Development Report 2, UNESCO, New York.
UNWWAP, 2009, Water in a Changing World: The United Nations World Water Development Report 3, UNESCO, New York.
USAID, 2007, Responding to the Water Crisis in Jordan, USAID, Jordan.
Wikipedia, August 30, 2010, Water Politics in the Jordan River Basin, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_politics_in_the_Jordan_River_basin
Wikipedia, August 30, 2010, Dead Sea, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea
Wikipedia, August 30, 2010, Sea of Galilee, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_of_Galilee
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