Arid Regions in Jordan - Essay Example

? ARID REGIONS IN JORDAN Arid Regions in Jordan Introduction The scant rain fall in Jordan has put its natives in great adversity. The per capita consumption of water in Jordan has been found to be hardly 200 m3 against world's average of 7500 m3. On segregating Jordan’s water availability, surface water provides 41%, ground water supply is 54% and treated wastewater harnessed is another 5%. (Abdallaha et al 2005) The proposal of this report is about the arid regions in Jordan and our place of study is the central Jordan made of the city Amman and Madaba region. Average rain fall in this region is found to be around 250 to 300 mm with Madaba getting slightly better average than Amman. (Tarawneh et al 2008) Background In uses of water in Jordan, agriculture consumes 68%, industry gets only 4% and balance is meant for individual consumption. Source: Ministry of Water and Irrigation, HKJ. Reference: http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/geo_env4.html Along with scant water resource, Jordan is suffering from non availability of natural energy sources such as oil, natural gas, and coal. Thus, Jordan’s water problem becomes more critical. Some of the demographics of the Jordan are worth enumerating: Area: Total: 92,300 sq km Water: 329 sq km Land: 91,971 sq km Population Distribution: 38% in Amman; 34% in Irbid and Zarqa; and 28% in the remainder of Jordan. ( About Jordan 2011) Looking at the present water scarcity and the population growth of the Jordan, multi pronged strategy is required to increase the supply of water for domestic consumption and surplus to be diverted to agriculture and industries. Options Various options are to be exploited based on the cost, availability of technology and time required to implement the plan. However, some of the options are essential to exploit to make the water availability to a decent level. Short term measures are required to be put in to action as they are must before thinking about any other long term solutions. Short-term Measures Replacing All Piping and Revamping Distribution Systems Stopping leakages and the spillages is essential and important need of an hour to make the optimum use of water. The distribution of water in Jordan is done through GI piping. The life of such piping is not found to be more than 15-20 years. It gets corroded during the period. It has been observed that total supplied water never reaches to the end users in full. A huge part of the supplied water is finished in leakages due to corroded piping. The replacement of the piping should be carried out at the earliest as water is precious and cannot be allowed to waste in this way. Currently, High density polyethylene piping is a most convenient mode of carrying the water for domestic supply. These piping lasts more than 100 years and quite sturdy and noncorrosive in nature. Underground Recharging with Rain Water Underground recharging with rain water throughout the region is the foremost necessity in a bid to tackle the water crisis. This option should be taken on priority basis and the community should be taken into confidence while implementing such plans as their involvement is necessary. Rain water as surface water in lakes or canals will have much higher evaporation losses and needs to be preserved through underground recharging. The neighbouring country Israel has successfully made the best use of artificial recharge technique and in a single year, way back during 1967-68, had recharged over 100,000,000 cubic meter of rain water. (Harpaz, Yoav 1971) Recycling and Treating the Domestic Streams for Agricultural Use In order to conserve the water, the next step in line is to collect all used water from the town of Amman and taken to a nearby treatment facility where all suspended impurities will be removed and then to be treated for domestic pollutants. The treated water then is suitable for agricultural use and should be released to farms through pipe lines. This will conserve the fresh water for domestic purposes. In view of the shortages of fresh potable water for domestic consumption, no fresh water should be allowed to use for agricultural purpose. As such, agriculture contributes only miniscule in the GDP of Jordan and arable land is only 2.8%. The fresh water diversion to agriculture and industries is feasible when per capita availability of potable water to the citizens reaches to a descent level. Long-Term Plans Water Transportation from the Disi Aquifer Water can be made available from huge Disi aquifer, the part of which lies beneath Jordan. The water can be transported through pipe line from Disi aquifer to Amman and Madaba region. The water in Disi aquifer is said to have been stored in last several thousand years; it is said to be 300 kilometers long and 500 meters below ground. The distance between Disi aquifer and Amman is roughly 320 kilometers. The expenditure on this project is said to be huge $600 million and will be funded by World Bank. The work on this project has started recently. (Disi Water…) Azraq Groundwater Basin Azraq ground water basin consists of 3 aquifers. -Upper shallow fresh water basalt - Middle limestone brackish water - Deep sand stone aquifer Upper shallow fresh water will be reserved for the local population and required to maintain bird ecosystem. The total area of this oasis is about 26 sq. km. Of this, limestone brackish water source, which is not potable, can be put to the use after treating through Reverse Osmosis technology. Having treated through reverse osmosis technology, it will have potable quality of water and can be supplied through piping to the central Jordan region. The distance between Azraq and capital is almost 85 kilometers. (Groundwater Basin…) Sea Water Desalination Project A canal linking the Red sea and Dead Sea can bring the water level at the desired level in the Dead Sea. High evaporation rate keeps on depleting the water level at Dead Sea. Dead Sea is evaporating at the rate of 1 meter per year. Dead Sea is said to be at the lowest point on this planet. Sea water desalination project based on Reverse Osmosis technology can be put to use for uninterrupted supply of the water. Initial estimates state that this project will need an outlay of $4-5 billion and can be implemented in joint partnership with Israel and Syria. Canal link between Red Sea and Dead Sea can generate hydro power to run the desalination unit and surplus power can be diverted to agriculture and industries. This project can certainly give a long term solution to the water problem of the Jordan. Comparison of Long Term Plans Sea water desalination from Dead Sea is the most resource consuming project and needs cooperation and involvement from the countries such as Israel and Syria. Building canal to join Red Sea and Dead Sea is a monumental task and it will take several years before water can be made available for consumption for the masses. The good part is that of late, Israel has shown interest in this project. The funding requirement will be huge but it can certainly give boost not only to the Jordan economy but also to the economy of the neighbouring countries. (Hybrid Desalination …) Disi aquifer project is better than sea water desalination project in terms of cost and also technological challenges are less. Water is required to be pumped from a long distance and pumping cost will be huge. Operating cost per cubic meter of water will be much lower than sea water desalination project; however, it will also have many management issues to deal with such as pilferage issue and maintenance of the piping throughout the route. Nevertheless, as a long term solution this gives assured supply of the water during crisis time such as drought and water can be made available for next 20-25 years assuming no replenishment to the aquifer takes place. The expenditure on this project is said to be huge $600 million and will be funded by World Bank. The work on this project has already started. (Disi Water…) Lastly, treating brackish water of Azraq Groundwater Basin does not offer a long term solution as it is not capable to give supply for a long period of time. However, it is worth exploring for emergency needs. The treatment cost of brackish water is much low compared to the treatment cost of sea water. In that sense, it is an economical proposition. Conclusions and Recommendations Summing up, it is recommended that on immediate short term basis and also it is the need of an hour that following three strategies are put in to action on war footing. -Replacing All Piping and Revamping Distribution Systems -Underground recharging with rain water -Recycling and treating the domestic Streams for agricultural Use The long term solution will depend upon the resource availability, budget allocation and also on the projected demand for the next 10-15 years. Out of the above mentioned plans, the scheme to bring water from Disi Aquifer is under implementation and that will supply Amman/Madaba region100 M M3 of water by the end of 2012. References: 1. Abdallaha, S; Abu-Hila, M; Mohsen, M.S 2005. Performance of a photovoltaic powered reverse osmosis system under local climatic conditions. [Online] available at http://blogs.najah.edu/staff/haneen/article/Performance-of-a-photovoltaic-powered-reverse-osmosis-system-under-local-climatic-conditions/file/Abu07.pdf [Accessed 12 April 2011] 2. Jordan’s Water Shortage [Online] available at http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/geo_env4.html [Accessed 12 April 2011] 3. About Jordan (2011) [Online] available at http://jordan.usaid.gov/jordan.cfm [Accessed 12 April 2011] 4. DISI WATER PROJECT [Online] available at http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?Projectid=P077750&theSitePK=40941&piPK=64290415&pagePK=64283627&menuPK=64282134&Type=Overview [Accessed 12 April 2011] 5. Groundwater Basin Summaries Azraq Basin. [Online] available at http://exact-me.org/overview/p15.htm [Accessed 12 April 2011] 6. Harpaz, Yoav (1971). Artificial Ground-Water Recharge by Means of Wells in Israel. Journal of the Hydraulics Division, Vol. 97, No. 12, December 1971, pp. 1947-1964 7. Hybrid Desalination Proposal, Dead Sea Water Project [Online] available at http://ezekielproject.org/desal_plan.shtml [Accessed 12 April 2011] 8. Tarawneh Zeyad S., Elgaali Elgaali A., Hamd, Moshrik R. Severity of Droughts in Arid Regions, Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering, Volume 2, No. 3, 2008 Read More