Conserving our precious resource

The Ministry of Water and Irrigation is already sounding the alarm about pressure on the country’s water resources, especially in the northern region which is suffering from an acute water shortage due to hosting hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.

The northern governorates, which receive the lowest water per capita, also suffer from the highest water loss rates in the Kingdom, according to the ministry. 

The Cabinet was recently briefed about this growing problem by the ministry, which painted a grim picture about expected water shortages due to the increasing number of Syrian refugees, the return of huge numbers of expatriates for the summer, the hot weather conditions, water theft, water loss due to deteriorated networks and last but not least the increasing number of unlicensed wells. 

The Water Ministry is conducting an ongoing crackdown on all forms of violations on water resources and systems, in addition to launching several projects to establish new pipes and rehabilitate worn-out networks with the aim of improving water supply across the country.

Since the onset of the campaign in August 2013, authorities have confiscated over 140 drilling rigs, sealed more than 240 illegal wells and dismantled almost 10,000 pipes that were diverting tens of thousands of cubic metres every day. 

Topping all these constraints is the irresponsible use of water by the public. 

Jordan is among the poorest countries of the world when it comes to water resources and what little water it has is barely enough for its own population. 

When millions of refugees flock to the country, the strain on water resources becomes that much more challenging.

True the government is doing all it can to improve the water supply, but there is a limit to what it can do to face the challenge. 

This means that the people must do their part to alleviate the water crisis by using the precious resource rationally and stop “stealing” it or drilling illegal wells.