Water authority cautions public against expected dam overflowing

AMMAN — Ahead of unstable weather conditions forecast to affect the Kingdom, the Water Authority of Jordan on Monday warned farmers and the public that King Talal Dam, which now holds 97 per cent of its total capacity of 75 million cubic metres (mcm), is likely to overflow. 

When dams reach their full capacity, the floodgates are opened to release excess water.

In a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, the authority called on farmers located in the area between King Talal Dam and King Abdullah Canal and the Jordan River to take the necessary precautions.

A technical team is routinely following up on the Kingdom's dams and coordinating with related entities to prepare for the expected weather conditions, the statement added, cautioning farmers and the general public against approaching waterways, valleys, dams and irrigation channels across the Kingdom.

In 2019, for the first time over the past four decades, King Talal Dam overflowed three times in a month as the Kingdom received “excellent" amounts of rain during that wet season.

When the dam overflowed on March 1, 2019, greenhouses and farms were destroyed by the floodwaters released from the dam. Farmers sustained massive losses, prompting the premier to visit them in the Jordan Valley and promise government compensation.