AMMAN — Minister of Water and Irrigation Raed Abul Saud on Wednesday reiterated that technical cadres at the ministry, the Water Authority of Jordan and the Disi Water Company are working round-the-clock to complete preventative maintenance on the Disi Water Conveyance Project.

 

Abul Saud said that the maintenance is expected to be finished by Thursday, and that water will be pumped as per usual to Amman, Zarqa and Ruseifa and the northern governorates, according to a ministry statement.

 

The minister said that maintenance began on Monday and was carried out round-the-clock by the project manager, 25 specialised engineers and 75 technicians and workers, under direct supervision from ministry officials, according to the statement. 

 

Project Manager Bashar Al Bataineh said that maintenance was carried out over the entire length of the pipeline, extending to around 320 kilometres, and including maintenance work on the operation systems of the 55 wells in Mudawarah area, the collection tanks alongside the pipeline and the Mudawarah water pumping station. 

 

The maintenance also covered Madaba’s pumping station, Dabouq’s tanks and Abu Alanda’s tank, in addition to other tanks on the pipeline’s route and certain handles, electric panels, electricity generation systems and hydraulic pumps. 

 

The project pumps 15 million cubic metres of water to several governorates, including to the capital Amman, Water Ministry Spokesperson Omar Salameh said on Tuesday, noting that if the 320-kilometre pipeline is not maintained regularly, it risks severe damage.

 

He also noted that when the Emirate of Transjordan was established in 1921, per capita water use was more than 1,500 cubic metres, but at present has regressed to less than a 100 cubic metres annually. 

 

The regression has caused the water deficit to reach 500 million cubic metres, which is why the turn system is applied, Salameh said.

 

He noted that Jordan needs 1.4 billion cubic metres of water annually, but only 900 million is available, reiterating the need for strategic projects to ensure that enough water is provided.