This year has been one of the most critical in Jordan as climate change is affecting concretely the lives of those who live in the country. In 2021, there was a 60% decrease in rainfall, which resulted in Jordan's 14 dam reservoirs drying up. Some of the most important dams in Jordan such as King Talal dam, Al-Walah dam, and Al- Mujib dam had lost an estimated amount of 150 million cubic meters of water. With King Talal dam reaching the slit stage, 330 thousand acres of agricultural lands fully dependent on the dam for irrigation have dried up, in addition to a major depletion in fisheries, and risks of health hazards caused by the remains of still water in the bottom of these dams.
According to Al- Jazeera, 90% of Jordan's total area annually receives an estimated rainfall of less than 100 mm, most of it is lost as a direct result of desertification. As rainfall rates are declining more every year, temperatures in the country are steadily rising, evaporation is accelerating, land and arid areas are rapidly expanding, and conflicts over water resources are increasing. Jordanian citizens are considered among the most water-deprived people on earth, with fewer consumption rates than 100 cubic meters a year, while maximum waters scarcity worldwide is determined by annual consumption of 500 cubic meters or less.
Jordan is facing a water crisis caused by overlapping internal and external factors. One of the most important internal factors is the illegal excessive water extraction justified by the farmers’ need to water their crops and herds, since the government provides the Jordan Valley farmers with water only once in one or two weeks. In addition, groundwater storage is being exploited at a speed that exceeds the natural renewable “recharge” capacity.
Jordanians are draining the 12 hollow basins distributed throughout the Kingdom, bypassing all safe water extraction limits. These practices have led to a reduction of the levels of most of these basins, and to the drought of wells over the past decades. The largest share of drinking water comes from groundwater, and more than one-third of the internally extracted water is being used in agriculture.
Moreover, Water systems leak nearly half of the water on their way to Jordanian homes. Some attribute this to technical reasons associated with the intermittent rationing system that supplies water to citizens one or two days a week, which destroys the networks and causes severe leaks due to sudden water pressure in the system’s outdated pipes. Let alone other factors, such as the frequent ongoing attacks on water supply lines. Current and former experts and officials have confirmed that the various attacks on major water supply lines and the manipulation of water meters that have been going on for two decades constitute an obstacle to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, which has charged its treasury with an estimated 120 million dinars worth of loses. Attributed to many reasons, including the fact that citizens get water from the government once a week, and the expensive water prices.
Externally, surface and underground water basins are shared with neighboring countries. Surface water located in the Jordanian territories doesn’t originate from the country, instead, the source of these waters is located in neighboring countries and is controlled by them. For example, the Jordan River is controlled and seized by the Israeli authorities, which play a relevant role in determining the water map in the region.
Also, at the Jordanian - Saudi border, the two countries share a non-renewable water basin. Saudi Arabia began using large quantities of fresh, drinkable water to use in a project to grow the desert back in the ’70s. After a decade, Jordan began extracting fewer quantities, granting permission to private companies to use freshwater to grow wheat for local consumption. After the water crisis in Jordan had intensified as a result of water unavailability and increased demand, in 2013 the Jordanian Government had to drag water from the Desi basin to Amman and Aqaba for drinking purposes, hoping that the Jordanians would benefit from its water for 50 years before it completely dries up. However, as a result of the excessive extraction from the basin, specifically for agricultural purposes by Saudi Arabia, some are questioning the availability of the basin for as long as the Jordanian government expects, threatening a major source of drinking water in the Kingdom and raising many questions about its sustainability.