Jordan Watch: Disi Conveyor on the right track?

An informative report from Oxford Business Group about Jordan's elusive Disi conveyor project. Will it finally see the light?

Ground will finally be broken on Jordan's Disi Water Conveyance Project in June, as the drought-stricken country looks to boost its increasingly scarce water supply and combat the persistent shortfall of potable water in Amman and other urban centres.

Speaking last week to local media, Raed Abu Saud, the minister of water and irrigation, unveiled a set of new amendments to and details of the project, which was awarded in September to Turkish engineering firm GAMA Energy.

Abu Saud said, "The scheme's implementation period has been reduced from four years to three-and-a-half, which will help transfer much-needed water to Amman as soon as possible."

The 25-year build-operate-transfer (BOT) project was initially slated for a 2007 start date. During the delay, commodity prices, including steel and energy, have increased dramatically, inflating the final cost of the project by 13% to $1bn, Abu Saud said.

Under the project, GAMA will pump an additional 100m cubic metres (mcm) of water per year from the Disi aquifer, an ancient groundwater reservoir 325km south of Amman. The water will be extracted through a series of 55 500-metre-deep wells and piped towards Amman. The cities of Maan, Tafileh, Karak and Madaba will also be connected to the new network, while an extension to Zarqa is planned for emergency use. According to Abu Saud, with the new wells, Amman's supply from the Disi aquifer will last for approximately 100 years.

The Disi aquifer, which is a non-renewable groundwater source, also serves as the principal water supply for the southern city of Aqaba, and a large portion of its current output is diverted to hydro-intensive industries in the region, including agriculture.

Currently, the majority of Amman's potable water is sourced from large upland aquifers and smaller, newly developed aquifers in the south, such as the Lajoun aquifer near Karak. However, declines in the quality of the upland water tables have led to fears of overusage and have spurred the drive to find alternative resources. This has been compounded by a relatively antiquated infrastructure, including leaking pipes, which limits the effectiveness of the existing water system.

Jordan, which is one of the most water-impoverished countries in the world, grapples with an annual water deficit of 500 mcm, around half of the amount needed. With a population growing by nearly 3.5% and increasing pressure from Iraqi refugees, Jordan's water network requires increasingly urgent attention. Currently, per capita water consumption stands at an estimated 170 cubic metres annually; one of the lowest rates in the world.

Jordan has limited natural freshwater resources, with very few groundwater reservoirs and aquifers. In addition, the kingdom shares its surface water resources with Syria and Israel, which has restricted the amount available for the kingdom's irrigation and potable usage. Precipitation makes up the largest share of its supply, but a lacklustre winter has meant rainfall in 2007 was only 57% of the annual average. As a result, authorities have reduced water diverted for agricultural usages by up to 50% in the north and west of the country.

While the Disi conveyance project will go some way to alleviate the water shortage, Jordan will need to invest in additional long-term solutions, particularly since the rate of exhaustion for the Disi aquifer will be accelerated with the increased burden of Amman demand. According to the ministry of water and irrigation, Jordan will need over 1.6bn cubic metres of water annually by 2015.

Elias Salameh, a hydrogeology professor at the University of Jordan, told the local press, "The Disi project is a temporary solution. We must not relax, otherwise our water problem will increase with the swell in the population over the coming 20 years."

In an attempt to sustainably boost supply, the Ministry has initiated a series of projects along with the Disi scheme to alleviate pressure on the country's existing water network. Discussions are currently underway to construct a $5bn canal from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea, along with a hydroelectric plant and a desalination facility, which could provide an additional 850 mcm of fresh water per year. A number of wastewater treatment and desalination plants are also slated for construction across the country over the next five years