West Amman nursery caught ‘stealing water’ from main to irrigate saplings

AMMAN — The Water Ministry announced on Saturday that it has taken legal measures against the owners of a nursery and a building in west Amman who were illegally diverting water from a nearby water main.

The nursery’s daily consumption had resulted in water supply disruptions to area residents, according to a ministry statement sent to The Jordan Times.

The ministry said the owner of a building near the nursery had linked the water main to a well in the building, and the nursery owner was using a pump to divert the water to his facility.

Residents of the building and other adjacent ones complained about not receiving enough water, prompting ministry teams, in cooperation with the Jordan Water Company (Miyahuna), to head to the location, where they discovered the violation and disconnected the illegal fixture and the pump.

The teams issued legal reports and estimated the value of stolen water to impose fines on the violators and hold them accountable according to the law, the statement added.

The ministry’s inspection teams visited the building the next day to check on water meters, and found that the main had been reconnected to another pipe supplying the nursery, which is near a major mall in the capital, the statement said.

The teams issued a report on the incident, disconnected the water main again and referred the matter to the relevant authorities for further investigation.

The ministry also noted it would summon all involved parties in accordance with the Penal Code, which stipulates that “assaults on water resources are economic crimes”.

The statement did not include exact figures on the amount of stolen water or how much the violators were fined.

The amended Water Authority of Jordan Law stipulates stiffer penalties against those who abuse any element of the water system.

Those who abuse water carriers and mains, wastewater, pumping, purification or desalination stations; or cause the pollution of water resources, pipes or stations used for drinking water; and dig or are involved in the digging of wells without obtaining a licence, face a prison sentence of up to five years and fines up to JD7,000.

In addition, violators of water and wastewater projects are jailed for up to three years and fined up to JD5,000, according to recent amendments.

All penalties are doubled in the case of repeat offences.

The ministry said it has recently sealed more than 600 illegal wells across the Kingdom, detected 14,058 assaults on water mains for private use, illegal profit and illegal water selling, and has seized 30 drilling rigs.

Water theft and illegal uses constitute around 70 per cent of water loss in Jordan, with 1 million cubic metres of water lost for each 1 per cent. Water loss costs the country around $1 million, the ministry said, adding that such practices also affect groundwater.