Arjan residents protest disruption to water supply

AMMAN — Water supply to Arjan in Ajloun Governorate was restored following a brief disruption which sparked a protest in the district on Monday night. 

Residents demonstrated in downtown Arjan due to a delay in water distribution to a neighbourhood in the area, District Director Imad Kanaan said. 

“All Ajloun residents complain of water shortages, but the situation in Arjan is different because its springs are the source of half of Ajloun’s water needs,” Kanaan told The Jordan Times.

Residents of Arjan are accustomed to a regular supply of water, he said, so when the water distribution programme is delayed, they feel the difference and protest.

Under the distribution programme, households receive water at regular intervals on a rotating basis. Scarce water resources compelled the Kingdom to initiate the programme in the early 1980s to ensure a sustainable water supply to all subscribers.

A source at the Ajloun Water Directorate told The Jordan Times that residents of the northern governorate receive their water share under the distribution programme every 14 days.

“But the situation in Arjan is much better because they receive their water every week,” the source said.

He underscored that water generated from the springs of Arjan has dropped by 50 per cent this year, noting that Ajloun relies on underground water for its drinking water supply.

The official said there were 400 water subscribers in Arjan, noting that water supply is usually regular in the area.

With a total population of 21,742, Arjan stretches over 49.77 square kilometres, according to the website of the Ministry of Interior, which also indicated that the district is famous for diversified agricultural production and field cultivations due to the abundant springs in the area.

Arjan is home to one municipality and eight villages, and it is located in the northwestern part of Ajloun, 76km northwest of Amman.