Atlas of Jordan
|Chapter one - Constraints and Resources
Over Exploited Water Resources
Texte intégral
Groundwater
1This refers to available renewable groundwater resources (using safe extraction methods), estimated at 260 Mm3 per year for water strata that have been examined to date in all twelve basins. Quantities of available non-renewable groundwater were estimated at 118 Mm3 over a period of 100 years. These sources are found in the Disi-Mudawwara area and the Shadiya area in the Jafr Basin (fig. I.14).
Surface Water
2This refers to rivers, streams, valleys and winter flood water. Surface water quantities are estimated at 800 to 850 Mm3, a quarter of which is provided by the Yarmuk River Basin (230 Mm3 annually). The rest is in other basins across the country. Surface water is plentiful in the north and west of Jordan and scarce in the south and east (table I.2, table I.3, fig. I.15 and fig. I.16).
Non-Traditional Water
3This refers to treated water from waste treatment plants. Quantities were estimated at 32 Mm3 in 1989, 60 Mm3 in 1995 and 70 Mm3 in 2005 and are expected to reach 200 Mm3 in 2020. Farmers in the Jordan Valley operate private desalinisation plants to treat brackish groundwater for irrigation.
Water Resources
4Average annual rainfall is about 8 billion cubic metres, most of which evaporates. The remainder flows into rivers and other catchments or seeps into the ground to replenish large underground aquifers of fossil water that can be tapped with wells. Dam capacity was 1.91 Mm3 in 2005.
5Jordan is considered to be one of the world’s 10 poorest countries in water resources, whereas its population growth rate is about 2.9% (1998-2002), the 9th highest in the world (GTZ 2007). “The available renewable water resources are dropping drastically to an annual per capita share of 160 m3 in recent years, compared to 3,600 m3/cap/a in 1946.” (GTZ 2007, p. 13). While Jordan is currently suffering from a decrease in domestic per capita share reaching 86 litres/capita/day in 2001, this trend is expected to continue if no additional resources are developed. Jordan is striving not only to maintain domestic consumption at its current levels, but also to boost it to internationally accepted standards, at 150 l/c/d. The Dead Sea is a salt lake located in the Rift Valley at the mouth of the Jordan River and the end of several wadis. It is bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the Palestinian territories to the west. The Dead Sea is the lowest point on the Earth’s surface and the world’s deepest salt lake. It is the second saltiest body of water in the world (after Lake Asal in Djibouti). Its water is extremely saline (31.5%), very dense and its chemical composition is unique. This exceptional natural area is endangered by competing uses of its basin: for agriculture, industry and tourism.
Table I.2 — Resource Availability in Jordan for the Years 2005 - 2020.
Year |
Additional Resources |
Baseflow |
Ground-water |
Dam Safe Yield1 |
Non-Conventional Water2 |
Total |
2005 |
343.6 |
157.1 |
259.1 |
224.8 |
34.3 |
1018.9 |
2010 |
511.2 |
144.1 |
259.1 |
259.9 |
69.3 |
1243.7 |
2015 |
453.9 |
144.1 |
259.1 |
274.4 |
88.6 |
1220.1 |
2020 |
455.9 |
132.5 |
259.1 |
300.9 |
101.2 |
1249.6 |
1. Including treated watewater discharged to wadis 2. Locally available treated wastewater |
GTZ Water Master Plan 2004.
Table I.3 — Surface Water Basins in Jordan.
No |
Surface Water Basin |
Basin Code |
Catchment Area (km2) |
Average Annual Rainfall (mm/year) |
||||
Basin/Area |
Basin Name |
|||||||
1 |
Dead Sea Basin |
Jordan River Subbasin |
|
Yarmouk |
AD |
1,426 |
280 |
|
2 |
Amman-Zarqa |
|
AL |
3,739 |
220 |
|||
3 |
Jordan Valley |
|
AB |
780 |
270 |
|||
4 |
Jordan Valley Rift Side Wadis |
North |
AE, AF, AG AH, AJ,AK |
946 |
490 |
|||
5 |
South |
AM, AN, AP |
736 |
370 |
||||
6 |
Dead Sea Subbasin |
Central Basins |
Mujib |
CD |
6,727 |
180 |
||
7 |
Hasa |
CF |
2,603 |
130 |
||||
8 |
Dead Sea Rift Side Wadis |
C |
1,508 |
240 |
||||
9 |
North Wadi Araba |
D |
2,953 |
180 |
||||
10 |
Eastern Desert Basin |
Azraq |
F |
12,400 |
85 |
|||
11 |
Hammad |
H |
18,047 |
85 |
||||
12 |
Sirhan |
J |
15,733 |
45 |
||||
13 |
Jafr |
G |
12,363 |
45 |
||||
14 |
Southern Basins |
South Wadi Araba |
E |
3,742 |
75 |
|||
15 |
Southern Desert |
K |
6,296 |
15 |
||||
Total |
90,000 |
100 |
||||||
Note: Areas are within the Jordanian Territory. GTZ Water Master Plan 2004.
Source: Rainfall-Runoff Model, Years 1937/38 – 2002/03
Table des illustrations
![]() | |
---|---|
Titre | Figure 1.14 — Jordan Water Sources in 2008. |
URL | http://books.openedition.org/ifpo/docannexe/image/4866/img-1.jpg |
Fichier | image/jpeg, 56k |
![]() | |
Titre | Figure I.15— Flow Rate (Mm3/y). |
URL | http://books.openedition.org/ifpo/docannexe/image/4866/img-2.jpg |
Fichier | image/jpeg, 280k |
![]() | |
Titre | Figure I.16 — Jordan Main Water Basins. |
URL | http://books.openedition.org/ifpo/docannexe/image/4866/img-3.jpg |
Fichier | image/jpeg, 204k |
© Presses de l’Ifpo, 2013