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Jordan’s water share per capita ‘one of lowest in world’ — official

By JT - Oct 31,2019 - Last updated at Oct 31,2019

AMMAN — The water share per capita in Jordan has declined remarkably over the past decades to reach less than 100 cubic metres per year, one of the lowest levels worldwide, said Zarqa Miyahuna Director Jiryes Dababneh. 

Delivering a lecture on Tuesday titled “Water resources in Jordan”, which was held during a two-day scientific forum, Dababneh said that Jordan mainly relies on rainwater that varies in volume from year to year, as downpour has gone down by 20 per cent in the past few decades, according to a statement from the Jordan Water Company, Miyahuna. 

The Kingdom has 15 surface water basins, 12 ground water basins and 3,211 wells, the director noted, adding that the main reasons for the water problem include regional crises and the influx of large numbers of refugees, which have exacerbated the water crisis and placed immense pressure on the Kingdom’s resources, the statement said.  

The director noted that water demand in the northern governorates of the Kingdom, those nearest to Syria, are 40 per cent higher than other regions as a result of hosting Syrian refugees. 

Drinking water reaches 94 per cent of the Kingdom’s population as a result of efforts exerted by the Ministry of Water and affiliated institutions in facing water challenges, Dababneh said, noting that sanitation services are provided to some 75 per cent of water subscribers, according to the statement. 

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