Water supply and sanitation in Jordan

Shortly after the independence of Jordan in 1946 and the annexation of the West Bank, only a small share of the population of less than half a million had access to piped water on their premises. Drinking water was supplied from local springs; there were no sewers and little irrigation. This early period of independence was characterized by a foiled attempt to develop the water resources share with Syria, the building of limited irrigation infrastructure in the Northern Jordan Valley, and the creation of professional organizations in charge of the water sector.[10]

Between 1953 and 1955 the United States Special Representative for Water in the Middle East, Eric Johnston, had negotiated the Jordan Valley Unified Water Plan to jointly develop the water resources of the Jordan River Basin between Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. Although the Plan, known as the Johnston Plan, was rejected by the Arab League on political grounds, Jordan used it as a basis for all its future development of water resources. The Plan foresaw the construction of a dam at Maqarin on the Yarmouk River at the Jordanian-Syrian border as well as a diversion weir further downstream to divert the Yarmouk waters for irrigation of the Jordan Valley. Based on a 1953 water sharing treaty with Syria, Jordan made plans and sought funding for the dam from the United States. Israel, which diverted water from the Yarmouk to the Sea of Galilee for its own use, was not consulted, and the U.S. decided not to fund the Maqarin dam. Thus, much of the river's winter flows drained to the Dead Sea and left insufficient water resources for the development of irrigation in Jordan. Despite this, Jordan embarked on the construction of the East Ghor Canal with U.S. funding to develop irrigation in the Northeastern Jordan Valley with the limited water it had available.[10]

For the development of its water infrastructure, Jordan needed to build strong organizations with qualified personnel. For that purpose, two laws were passed in 1959 to create respectively the East Ghor Canal Authority responsible for the development of irrigation infrastructure, and the Central Water Authority responsible for the development of drinking water supply infrastructure. These institutions operated outside of government routine and offered better pay than the regular public service in order to attract the motivated and talented employees required for the important task to develop the country's water sector.[10] These efforts, however, were thwarted when Jordan lost the West Bank to Israel, and with it about a third of its population, in the Six-Day War of 1967, and during an ensuing period of internal disorder and violence known as the Black September that lasted until 1971.

The reservoir of King Talal Dam is the largest reservoir in Jordan, storing freshwater from the Zarqa river and treated wastewater from Amman-Zarqa for irrigation in the Jordan Valley.

From the early 1970s onwards the country's water infrastructure was expanded significantly with the construction of the King Talal Dam completed in 1977 and the completion of the East Ghor Canal (renamed King Abdullah Canal) in 1987. The country's first wastewater treatment plant at Ain Ghazal had been commissioned in 1968, but the construction of other wastewater treatment plants was addressed in only beginning in the late 1970s. In 1985, the largest wastewater treatment plant in the country was commissioned in As-Samra, serving Greater Amman. The plant used the stabilization pond technology, a natural technology that needed no electricity.

In terms of institutions, the two autonomous water sector institutions created in the 1959 had been merged into the Natural Resources Authority in 1965, but this overly centralized arrangement including non-water functions such as mining did not prove to be successful. Therefore, in a further institutional shift, in 1973 three new organizations were created, each by its own law: The Amman Water and Sewer Authority (AWSA), the Drinking Water Supply Corporation (DWSC) in charge of water supply in the areas outside the capital, and the Jordan Valley Commission (JVC).[10] In the meantime, Jordan's population had grown to 1.5 million because of natural growth and the influx of Palestinian refugees in 1967. The growing capital ran out of water and its supply became intermittent. In order to overcome the shortage, the Cabinet approved two projects in 1977: The first was the construction of a carrier from Deiralla in the Jordan Valley to pump drinking water to Amman, and the second was the construction of a carrier from the Azraq oasis east of the capital. Both projects were completed in the 1980s. At the same time, it was decided to reuse treated wastewater from Amman for irrigation in the Jordan Valley to compensate for the loss of freshwater.[11]

During this period a first National Water Master Plan was developed and finalized in 1977 with the assistance of the German government and its technical assistance agency GTZ.

A separate water balance study was commissioned by the government at the time and was completed by Howard Humphrey and Partners in 1978. This study showed that water resources were greatly insufficient to achieve the country's goals for irrigation development and to provide its growing population with sufficient drinking water. On the basis of this study, Jordan approached the Iraqi government in order to explore the possibility to transfer water from the Euphrates to Jordan. The Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who was closely allied with Jordan at the time, approved the request, but a feasibility study done in the mid-80s showed that the long-distance transfer would be prohibitively expensive. After abandoning this option, the government shifted its attention to the Disi Water Conveyance Project that would bring fossil groundwater from the border area with Saudi Arabia to Amman.[11]

In terms of institutional development, the government decided to return to the earlier structure of creating two separate autonomous agencies in charge of the water sector. In 1977, it created by law the Jordan Valley Authority (JVA) by merging the JVC and parts of other organizations, charging it with the comprehensive development of the Jordan Valley. In 1983, through another law it created the Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ), responsible for drinking water supply and sanitation in Jordan. Initially, the heads of both Authorities had the rank of Ministers and reported directly to the Prime Minister, until the Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI) was created in 1988 bringing the two agencies under it.[10] Another institutional shift occurred in 1993 when a World Bank water sector review suggested to bring in a private company to run the water and sanitation system of Amman, a move that was endorsed by the government. An important motivation for this step was to increase cost recovery.[12]

Through the 1994 Peace Treaty with Israel, Jordan gained access to water from the Sea of Galilee.

In 1995, the Water Annex to the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty increased Jordan's available water resources through the delivery of water from the Sea of Galilee and a greater share of water from the Yarmouk River. At the same time it was decided to double the capacity of the Deiralla-Amman conveyor to pump the additional drinking water to Amman. While not mentioned in the Peace Treaty, the idea of a Red Sea-Dead Sea Canal, jointly planned by the two countries in order to raise the declining level of the Dead Sea and to provide more water for Jordan through desalination, gained impetus as a result of the Peace Treaty. In summer 1998 a drinking water incident occurred in Amman, when water with an unpleasant smell came out of some taps. The incident became a tool in the succession struggle for the throne at a time when King Hussein lay dying. According to history professor Nigel Ashton, then-Water Minister Munther Haddadin was allied with then-Crown Prince Hassan. Hassan's opponents exploited the incident as evidence for “negligence and corruption in high places”, forcing the Water Minister to step down because of his alleged failure to properly oversee the operation of the Zai water treatment plant that treated water brought from the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan Valley to Amman. Along with two other former water ministers, Haddadin was indicted by the State Prosecutor, but the charges were dropped after Crown Prince Hasan was sidelined in favor of King Abdullah II who succeeded his father after his death in February 1999.[13]

Since the 1990s Jordan has pursued two megaprojects, the US$1 billion Disi Water Conveyance Project and the US$10 billion Red Sea-Dead Sea Canal. It also completed other large projects, including the construction of a modern wastewater treatment plant for Amman in As-Samra and the Al-Wehda Dam on the Yarmouk River. Both the Disi Conveyor and the Samra Plant attracted significant private financing for the first time in the history of the Jordanian water sector, despite low levels of cost recovery from water tariffs.

Following the influx of refugees from Kuwait following the latter's occupation by Iraq in 1990 and due to natural growth, Jordan's population had increased to more than 3 million by 1990 and 4.8 million by 2000. This further worsened the already precarious water balance. It also led to the overloading of the wastewater treatment plant in As-Samra. The plant was unable to produce the required effluent quality, negatively affecting irrigation in the Jordan Valley. It was thus decided to replace the plant with a more modern technology, involving the private sector. In 2003, a 25-year Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract was signed with a consortium including the French company Suez Environnement.[14] The plant was commissioned in 2006, providing water of a considerably improved quality for irrigation. In terms of cooperation with Syria, in 1987 the two governments had signed a new water-sharing treaty that was more favorable to Syria compared to the 1953 treaty, acknowledging the increased water use for irrigation in the upper basin inside Syria. After much delay, it was decided in 2001 to reduce the size of the dam on the Yarmouk River compared to the originally planned Maqarin Dam. The dam, called Al-Wehda Dam (Unity Dam), was commissioned in 2011, but yielded much less water than anticipated due to Syrian abstractions upstream.

A digital National Water Master Plan was launched in 2004, replacing the first Master Plan. It was an integrated plan intended to enable decision makers to set policies and strategies based on planning scenarios derived from water consumption trends in various locations and sectors such as agriculture, municipal use and industry. The Master Plan was connected to a Water Information System (WIS) which was to contain all monitoring data related to demands and resources.[15][16]

Concerning the institutional reform and modernization of the water sector, the management contract for Amman was awarded in 1999 to the French company Lyonnaise des Eaux. It brought about many improvements, although it fell short of contractual targets. In 2007 it ended and a subsidiary of WAJ in the form of a public company, Miyahuna (“Our Water”), was created. In 2004, a first commercially oriented public water company had been created as a subsidiary of WAJ in the Southern town of Aqaba, called the Aqaba Water Company (AWC). A third water company, the Yarmouk Water Company (YWC), was created in Northern Jordan in 2011. In 2013 Miyahuna was given the responsibility for water supply and sanitation in Madaba Governorate and in January 2014 in Zarqa Governorate under public-public management contracts, while the employees in these two governorates remain employees of WAJ.

In May 2009, King Abdullah gave the go-ahead for a new National Water Strategy until 2022, replacing an earlier Water Strategy from 1998. The strategy included investments of Jordanian Dinar 5.86 billion (US$8.24 billion) over a period of 15 years, corresponding to more than 160% of Jordan's GDP. It also foresaw a decreasing reliance on groundwater from 32% in 2007 to 17%, increased use of treated wastewater in agriculture from 10% to 13% and increased use of desalination from 1% to 31%. According to then-Minister of Water, Raed Abu Soud, even after the completion of the Disi Water Conveyance Project, the water deficit in 2022 would be about 500 million cubic metres, highlighting the need to include desalination under the Red Sea-Dead Sea canal in the strategy. The strategy also envisaged institutional reforms such as enacting a new water law, separating operational from administrative functions, as well as production from distribution operations, creating a Water Council with advisory functions and establishing a Water Regulatory Commission.[17] While the legal and institutional reforms were not implemented, the Disi Water Conveyance Project was completed in 2013 by the Turkish firm Gama. The influx of about one million refugees from Syria since 2012 increased the population of Jordan to more than nine million. It also increased water demand substantially. For lack of financing, the Red Sea-Dead Sea Canal is not being pursued any more in its original form for the time being. Instead, a scaled-down, more realistic version is being pursued. This project involves a water swap between Jordan and Israel, with Jordan supplying desalinated water from Aqaba to Southern Israel, while Israel provides additional water from the Sea of Galilee to Northern Jordan. Brine water from the desalination plant is to be supplied to the Dead Sea. In 2015, the bidding for the desalination plant at Aqaba was commenced, and the plant was inaugurated in 2017 by the then-Prime minister Hani Mulki. The clean water it will generate, estimated at around 5 million cubic metres annually, will be used for drinking purposes, agricultural and industrial needs [18]

By the end of 2028, a new flagship project is projected to be a longer-term solution to Jordan's water crisis. The Aqaba-Amman Water Desalination and Conveyance Project[19] will collect water from the Red Sea in the Gulf of Aqaba in the south, desalinate it, and route it 450 kilometers north to Amman and its surrounding area, delivering 300 million cubic meters of water each year.[20][21][22]

Aqaba, the only city in Jordan that enjoys continuous drinking water supply, receives its water by gravity from the fossil Disi aquifer.

Water supply in the Jordanian highlands, where most of the population lives, is generally intermittent. According to a 2008 study by the University of Michigan, water is delivered once a week in big cities like Amman and once every twelve days in some rural areas.[3] According to a 2007 survey the mean rate of supply per week was 1.5 days in Madaba governorate, 2.9 days in Balqa governorate and 3.2 days in Zarqa governorate.[5] In Amman, according to the water distribution plan of Miyahuna, 8 out of 44 main distribution zones received continuous water supply "except in emergency cases" in 2012. Most other distribution zones were scheduled to receive water for either once a week for 24 hours or twice a week for a total of 36–48 hours.[24] To what extent actual supply follows the distribution program, especially during summer, is not clear. Since the Disi-Amman Conveyor became operational in summer 2013 the continuity of supply in Amman has increased.

Wadi Musa and the neighboring villages of Taiba, B'Doul and Beida were among the few localities in the Highlands that briefly enjoyed continuous water supply after a new well field had been built and the distribution network had been rehabilitated in 2001.[25] However, only a few years later, water supply became intermittent again. Aqaba has always enjoyed continuous water supply thanks to abundant gravity-fed water supply from the fossil Disi aquifer in the Highlands above the coastal city.

Drinking water quality in Jordan is governed by Jordanian Standard 286 of 2008,[26] which is based on the World Health Organization drinking water guidelines. Jordan's standards were modified in 2008 and previously in 2001, after a major drinking water pollution outbreak occurred in Amman in the summer of 1998 due to a malfunction of the capital's major drinking water treatment plant. In 2001, specific measures to be undertaken in case of the occurrence of pollution in drinking water samples were included in the procedures that are part of the standard. A 2005 study of different potable water sources in four governorates showed that drinking water quality was in compliance with national physiochemical standards.[27] For the purpose of monitoring groundwater quality, a network of observation wells is installed in each of the “groundwater basins”.[28] At the household level water is stored in water tanks (usually on top of the buildings) to be used until the next turn of water supply. In a 2011 study by the Jordanian Government, more than 90% of samples taken at house water storage tanks in three Amman distribution zones (Rasheed, Kharabsheh and Khalda) had chlorine residual levels between 0.2 mg/L and 0.5 mg/L.[29] These values are in compliance with the recommendations of the WHO Drinking Water Guidelines.[30] According to the WHO, the water can thus be classified as "safe to drink".[31] Despite these results, a 2012 Jordan Times article reported that “[a] customer satisfaction survey carried out by the Jordan Water Company (Miyahuna) showed that customers avoid drinking tap water, fearing it is contaminated”.[32]

Jordan's first wastewater treatment plant was established in 1968 in Ain Ghazal near Amman (the plant now serves as a pre-treatment plant for the As-Samra plant). The construction of other treatment plants started in the early 1980s. The total number of treatment plants was 28 as of 2013, treating about 324,000 m³ per day (118 million m³/year), or about 98% of the collected wastewater. By far the largest treatment plant is the As-Samra plant that treats the wastewater of Amman-Zarqa, accounting for about 80% of all wastewater treated. The plant initially used the stabilization pond technology, but was rebuilt using the activated sludge technology in 2008 under a Build-Operate-Transfer contract signed in 2002. In June 2012 the government signed a contract for the expansion of the treatment plant to a capacity of 365,000 m³.[33] Water is reused mainly for irrigation in the Jordan Valley, with some reuse for irrigation in the Highlands and limited industrial reuse in Aqaba.

The 2015 Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation encouraged the Ministry of Water and Irrigation and Water Authorities to make more information accessible by creating a system of public information through various media channels, including online. These should include information relating to water and sanitation, such as the results of water sampling. Thus strengthening the human right of access to information. According to the report these measures are also crucial for gaining public confidence in water quality, the reliability of services and encourage people to accept tariff reform.[35]

Jordan's water resources include conventional as well as non-conventional resources, the latter e.g. comprising water reuse and desalination.

Conventional water resources in Jordan consist of groundwater and surface water. Countrywide, twelve groundwater basins have been identified. In terms of sustainability, their state can be described as critical since some of them are exploited to their maximum capacity, while others are overexploited, threatening their future use. The long term safe yield of renewable groundwater has been estimated at 275 million cubic metres/year. The major surface water sources are the Jordan River, the Yarmouk River and the Zarqa River.

Much of the flow of the Jordan River is diverted by Israel and much of the flow of the Yarmouk River by Syria, leaving only a small share to Jordan. Syria and Jordan have signed a bilateral treaty over the sharing of the Yarmouk River in 1987 in preparation for the construction of the Al-Wehda Dam on the border between the two countries. An Annex to the Israel–Jordan Treaty of Peace of 1994 specifies the allocation of the Jordan River and the lower Yarmouk River water between the two countries. As part of this treaty, Israel supplies Jordan with 20 million cubic metres per year during the summer from the Sea of Galilee in exchange for the same amount that Israel pumps from the Yarmouk River in the winter for storage in the Sea of Galilee.[43] The treaty also specifies the supply of 10 million m³ of desalinated brackish water from Israel to Jordan and the supply of an additional 50 million cubic metres per year of drinkable water for Jordan from an unspecified source.[44] This water could come from the Sea of Galilee or brackish water springs.

The Zarqa River is severely polluted by industry, municipal wastewater and non-point sources. The King Talal Dam, Jordan's largest surface water reservoir, faces low water levels and pollution. However, water quality in the King Talal reservoir has improved as a result of the construction of the new As-Samra wastewater treatment plant. The National Water Strategy estimates total renewable freshwater resources at 575 million cubic metres/year plus 90 million cubic metres/year of treated wastewater, totaling 665 million cubic metres/year.

Treated wastewater from the Amman-Zarqa area flows through the Zarqa River to the Jordan Valley where it is reused indirectly for irrigation.

Water reuse is an increasingly important element in Jordan's water balance. Reuse of treated wastewater ( also called "reclaimed water") occurs both indirectly, after discharge of the effluent to a river and mixing with freshwater, and directly, e.g. without mixing with freshwater.

Strategies and challenges. The increased use of reclaimed water is part of Jordan's national water strategy. As part of it, a strategy for pricing and marketing reclaimed water has been established.[45] Extension workers from the Ministry of Agriculture use a computer-based information system to advise farmers on how to optimize their fertigation in light of the irrigation water quality, location, crop, soil type and other factors. Despite these efforts, the majority of farmers in the Jordan Valley are not aware of the nutrient content of the reclaimed water, although experience from demonstration sites shows that using it, fertiliser expenditures can be reduced by 60%. One challenge for the reuse of wastewater is the fact that industries discharge untreated wastewater into the sewer system. However, this industrial wastewater contains heavy metals and other substances which the municipal wastewater treatment plants cannot remove.[46]

Standards. The Jordanian standard JS893:2006 restricts the direct re-use of treated domestic wastewater to crops that are not eaten raw.[47] It sets different standards for various reuse categories such as cooked vegetables, parks & landscaping/roads in towns (Class A), fruit trees, sides of roads and green areas (Class B) and fodder & industrial crop & forest trees (Class C).[48] Industrial Wastewater Standard Specification No 202/2007 complements the above standards, also distinguishing between different reuse categories.[49]

Furthermore, a Reuse Coordination Committee has been established.[45] A crop monitoring program confirmed that use of treated wastewater in Jordan meets the health-based target recommended by the WHO guidelines for the safe use of treated wastewater.[46]

Indirect reuse of reclaimed water from Greater Amman. The reclaimed water (treated wastewater) from the largest wastewater treatment plant in Jordan, As-Samra, flows through the Zarqa River into the King-Talal-Reservoir where it mixes with freshwater. From there it flows into the King-Abdullah-Canal in the Jordan Valley where it further mixes with freshwater. The diluted reclaimed water is reused on about 4,000 farms covering 10,000 hectares in the Southern part of the valley, mostly using drip irrigation.[46]

Wadi Musa where the first pilot project for direct reuse of treated wastewater in agriculture in Jordan was implemented.

Direct reuse projects. According to one estimate, 1,500 ha were irrigated with reclaimed water in the vicinity of treatment plants as of 2009 in 15 locations, of which the biggest are near As-Samra (510 ha), Aqaba (208 ha), Ramtha (121 ha) and Wadi Musa (107 ha). Crops irrigated are forage crops and tree crops.[49] One of the first pilot projects for direct reuse was implemented in Wadi Musa with support from USAID. Water was first used to irrigate a demonstration farm, and then the fields of nearby farmers.[50] Another pilot project was initiated using wastewater from the small Wadi Hassan treatment plant to irrigate green spaces on the campus of the University of Irbid, and commercial fruit plantations.[51] In most cases of direct reuse, the Water Authority of Jordan, the operator of most municipal wastewater treatment plants in Jordan, has concluded contracts with farmers. The total area irrigated under contracts with WAJ is 760 ha, or about half the total irrigated area. It is thus about 12 times smaller than the area irrigated with indirectly reclaimed water from the As-Samra plant in the Jordan Valley.[47]

Planned reuse of reclaimed water from Greater Irbid in the Jordan Valley. A major water reuse project is being planned to reuse water from three wastewater treatment plants in the area of Irbid in the North of Jordan through a project supported in the framework of Jordanian-German cooperation. As of 2006, only 14% of the wastewater from these plants was being reused. An explanation for this is that farmers in the Jordan Valley are reluctant to use the reclaimed water, which they perceive to be of poor quality, for irrigation. The wastewater thus flows into the Jordan River, unused. In the future, the treated effluent from the three plants will flow through a pipe into the Jordan Valley, generating hydropower from the elevation differential of more than 1,000m. It will then be mixed with freshwater and delivered to the farmers in a quality that is acceptable to them.

Desalination, which includes both desalination of sea water and desalination of brackish water, is another important non-conventional water resource for Jordan. The key project for sea water desalination is the Red Sea-Dead Sea Canal project which is yet to be completed. The most important plant for desalination of brackish water is the Ma'in-Mujib system which supplies water to Amman.

In 2009 a government report noted that "Jordan’s remarkable development achievements are under threat due to the crippling water scarcity, which is expected to be aggravated by climate change."[52] Rainfall is expected to decline significantly and evaporation and transpiration of plants will increase due to increased temperatures.

The Mujib dam stores water from Wadi Mujib which is then mixed with desalinated water from brackish springs near the shore of the Dead Sea and then pumped up to Amman for drinking water supply.

The key elements of Jordan's overall water infrastructure are

• the Al-Wehda Dam on the Yarmouk River;
• the King Abdullah Canal (KAC) in the Jordan Valley which is fed primarily by the Yarmouk River, the Mukhaibah springs near the Yarmouk River and a number of wadis draining into the Jordan Valley;
• the As-Samra wastewater treatment plant that treats most of Greater Amman's wastewater and discharges it to the Zarqa River; and
• the King Talal Dam on the Zarqa River from where the water returns to the KAC downstream of Deir Alla for irrigation in the Lower Jordan Valley;

The following systems provide drinking water for the Amman-Zarqa metropolitan area:

• The Disi Water Conveyance Project that extracts 100 million m³ (2.6×10¹⁰ US gal) of water a year from the fossil Disi aquifer 325 kilometres (202 mi) south of Amman.[53]
• the Deir Alla-Amman system pumps up to 90 million m³ (2.4×10¹⁰ US gal) a year water from the KAC to Amman over a height of 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) and treats it in the Zai water treatment plant;[54]
• the Ma'in-Mujib system desalinates up to 38 million m³ (1.0×10¹⁰ US gal) per year of brackish water from the northeastern shore of the Dead Sea, stores it in Mujib Reservoir and pumps it to Amman, also covering a difference in altitude of 1,200 metres (3,900 ft).[55]
• a pipeline from a wellfield near the Azraq oasis to the East, local wells, and a small wellfield South of Amman.

The proposed Red Sea-Dead Sea Canal is a multibillion-dollar plan to build a canal from the Red Sea to the slowly evaporating Dead Sea. The project also incorporates the construction of a desalination plant. It is expected to provide Jordan with 500 million cubic metres of water annually. In August 2008, the Jordanian Minister of Water and Irrigation Raed Abu Soud denoted the project as "the solution to our water problems."[53] The level of the Dead Sea has been continuously falling since the early 1930s at an average rate of 0·7 m per year. The water level, as of February 1998, is about 410·9 m below mean sea level.[56]

Water and sanitation are regulated mainly by the Water Authority of Jordan Law No. 18 of 1988 and its amendments, Jordan Valley Authority Law No. 30 of 2001 and Ministry of Water and Irrigation Law No. 54 of 1992 and its amendments. Other relevant laws include Public Health Law No. 47 of 2008, Environmental Protection Law No. 85 of 2006 and Groundwater By-Law No. 85 of 2002. Jordan does not yet have a comprehensive water law, although a draft law is being discussed. The bill is supposed to define the structure and functions of the different ministries and other institutions managing the water and sanitation sectors. The UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe water drinking water and sanitation stated in a 2014 report: "[a]dopting a comprehensive water law, is an important first step for the realization of the human right to water and to sanitation."[57]

The Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI) is the official apex body responsible for the formulation of national water strategies, policies and planning, subject to approval by the Council of Ministers. The MWI has been established in 1988 through a bylaw. The establishment of the MWI was in response to Jordan's recognition for the need of a more integrated approach to national water management. Since its establishment, MWI has been supported by several donor organizations that have assisted in the development of water policy and water master planning as well as in restructuring the water sector. Two key agencies in the water sector are under the authority of the Ministry: The first of them is the Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ) which is mainly in charge of water and sanitation service provision. It provides its services directly or through public companies that it owns (see below). Moreover, WAJ is also responsible, together with the Ministry, for water resources planning and monitoring. It also regulates water abstraction by all users, including itself, by issuing licenses. WAJ thus combines both regulatory and service provision functions.

The second institution directly subordinate to the MWI is the Performance Monitoring Unit (PMU), previously called Programme Management Unit. It is in charge of projects with private sector participation. It has also carried out major investment projects such as the water loss reduction program in Amman and has regulated the private operator in Amman from 1999 to 2006. The PMU was supposed to be an embryonic unit for a future semi-autonomous water regulatory agency for the entire country, to be established by law outside of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation. As a step in that direction, a Water Sector Audit Unit (WSAU) was established in the PMU in May 2008. The unit has set up a benchmarking system using performance indicators that have initially been applied to the Aqaba Water Company and Miyahuna.[58] Due to the absence of a regulatory agency, tariff setting is the responsibility of the Cabinet, after proposal from the Ministry of Water and Irrigation.[12]

WAJ is responsible for planning, construction, operation and maintenance of the public water supply and sewer services either directly or indirectly through its subsidiaries. It has been established as an autonomous corporate body, with financial and administrative independence linked with the Minister of Water and Irrigation.

One of WAJ's subsidiaries is the Aqaba Water Company (AWC), a public company established in August 2004 as Jordan's first semi-autonomous water utility. It is owned by WAJ (85%) and the Aqaba Special Economic Zone (ASEZA; 15%) whose establishment triggered the establishment of AWC. A second public water company, the Jordan Water Company (Miyahuna), was set up in 2006 for the Governorate of Amman. The company, which was created to take over service responsibility from a private operator, is a 100% subsidiary of WAJ. A third public company, the Yarmouk Water Company (YWC), has been be set up in 2010, serving the four Northern Governorates of Jordan, namely Irbid, Jerash, Ajloun and Mafraq. YWC is also a 100% subsidiary of WAJ and replaces the Northern Governorates Water Administration (NGWA). In 2013 Miyahuna was given the responsibility for water supply and sanitation in Madaba Governorate and in January 2014 in Zarqa Governorate under public-public management contracts, while the employees in these two governorates remain employees of WAJ.

Water distribution and sewerage in Amman were operated by a private French company from 1999 to 2006.

Amman management contract. In 1999, a public-private partnership (PPP) started with the signing of a Management Contract between WAJ and the private joint venture Lyonnaise des Eaux - Montgomery Watson - Arabtech Jardaneh (LEMA), led by the French company Lyonnaise des Eaux, now known as Suez Environnement. According to the contract, LEMA was responsible for operating and managing water and wastewater services in the Greater Amman area on behalf of WAJ. The original five-year contract which began in August 1999 was extended until December 2006. The contract was intended to strengthen the technical structure and management capability as well as to develop the skills and knowledge of the staff. To this end, a small team of experienced expatriates worked with, and trained, around 1250 local staff. LEMA received treated water from number of WAJ sources. It also collected wastewater and transported it to treatment plants. The company was able to comply with 12 out of 15 performance targets. In the service area, i.e. in the Amman Governorate, access to supply increased from 90% in 2000 to universal access in 2005. At the same time, sewer connections increased from 69% to 80%. In 2007, the Jordan Water Company Miyahuna replaced LEMA after its contract had been extended one final time for an extra six months.[59]

As-Samra Build-Operate-Transfer. The wastewater treatment plant As-Samra, the largest such plant in Greater Amman, is being operated by a consortium led by SUEZ under a 25-year Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract with WAJ.

Madaba Micro Private Sector Participation. In the Madaba Governorate, a different model of private sector participation (PSP), called Micro PSP, has been carried out starting in 2006. The Micro PSP involved outsourcing customer service operations to Engicon, a local operator hired on a three-year performance-based contract. Aims of the project were to improve water and wastewater revenue, to increase the billing rate and to develop the customer management organisation, thereby improving efficiency. To achieve this, Engicon trained staff, surveyed and mapped all subscribers and regulated routes to meter readers (to eliminate reader monopoly). The Micro-PSP with Engicon had a variety of positive effects for the Madaba Water Administration: As a result of the cooperation, the Madaba Water Administration could start issuing its own bills instead of having to rely on WAJ structures. The accuracy of meter reading improved and net billed water increased by 75%. Net collections increased from 0.9 million in 2005 to 1.9 million in 2008. The levels of non-revenue water (NRW) initially dropped from an average of 45% to 34%, but in 2009 they were back at 40% due to an increase in water pumping pressure. Advantages of the Micro-PSP model include the fact that WAJ maintained asset ownership and that all revenue collected went to WAJ, so that investment costs could be fully recovered within 13 months of operation. The performance-based contract set strong incentives for the private operator to deliver concrete results.[60][61][62]

More than 15 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) work directly or indirectly on water issues in Jordan, including the Jordan Environment Society[63] (JES) and the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature. NGOs carry out awareness projects and provide support to community projects together with national and international partners. NGOs are particularly engaged in water harvesting and water reuse. The Royal Scientific Society, through its Environmental Research Center, undertakes applied research including water quality assessments and wastewater management.[64]

In addition to large-scale solutions there are also several community-based approaches aiming at a more sustainable use of Jordan's water resources. An important fosterer of these small-scale community-based approaches is the “Community Based Initiatives for Water Demand Management Project” (CBIWD), a project organised by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation in cooperation with Mercy Corps, the Jordan River Foundation and the Royal Scientific Society which is supported by USAID.[65][66] The CBIWD supports a variety of project types, among them e.g. rainwater harvesting and greywater reuse projects.[65]

The rainwater harvesting projects are mostly located in Jordan's North since rainfall is higher in this region than in the rest of the country. The communities, who are often not connected to the piped network, use harvested rainwater instead of or complementary to piped freshwater.

Concerning the reuse of greywater, Jordan's Ministry of Water promotes this alternative source especially in the agricultural sector, but also in hotels, government premises and on the individual household level.[65] The most important motivation for using greywater - next to saving freshwater - is to cut down water bills.

Water and sewer services in Jordan are heavily subsidized. The revenue covers only part of the operation and maintenance costs, especially after the near-doubling of electricity tariffs in 2011 since 14% of electricity in Jordan is used to pump drinking water and to treat wastewater. Subsidies to the water sector amount to more than 0.4% of GDP.[6]

Water and sewer tariffs in Jordan are differentiated by geographic area, type of use and volume of use. In areas served by public companies - the governorates of Amman, Aqaba, Irbid, Jerash, Ajloun and Mafraq - tariffs are higher than in the rest of the country where services are provided by WAJ. Residential water and sewer tariffs use an increasing-block system, under which users pay a higher tariff per m³ if they consume more water. The first block, corresponding to a consumption of 18m³ per quarter, is a minimum charge independent of the amount of water consumed. Water and sewer tariffs for non-residential use (commercial and industrial users) are about ten to twenty times higher respectively than residential water and sewer tariffs in the lowest consumption block.

In areas served by public companies, as of 2015, the residential minimum charge was JD5.22/quarter for water and sewerage. This corresponds to an average water tariff of JD0.14/m³ and a sewer tariff of JD0.04/m³ for 18m³ per quarter. For a consumption level of 36m³ per quarter the average water and sewer tariff was JD0.24/m³ and JD0.14/m³ respectively. The tariff for each next m³ increases until it reaches JD1.92/m³ and JD1.11/m³ respectively for water and sewerage at a consumption of more than 122 m³/quarter. Tariffs for non-residential customers were JD1.30/m³ and 0,87 m³ respectively above a consumption of 6 m³/quarter, independently of the level of consumption.[4][9] There is also a sewerage tax that is set at 3% of the assessed property value, which is charged in addition to the sewer tariff. Despite rising property values the sewerage tax revenue has remained constant for many years at JD15m per year, representing less than 10% of water revenues.[6]

Any adjustment of water tariffs requires Cabinet approval. In September 2009, King Abdullah stated that water tariffs would not be increased.[76] In June 2010 the government announced the first tariff increase since 1997, emphasizing that low-volume consumers would not be affected because the tariff in the first block remained unchanged.[77] The tariff increase, said to amount to only 9% for volumes beyond the first block, would become effective in January 2011. At the same time, the billing cycle was changed from every three months to monthly. Furthermore, tariffs in five governorates were silently substantially increased to the same level as in Amman. In February 2012 the Cabinet decided to return to the quarterly billing cycle and to further increase tariffs in the higher blocks of consumption.[78]

Combined water and sewer bills amount, on average, to less than 0.5% of total household expenditures and are thus quite affordable.[6] The intermittent supply leads many to rely on bottled or tanked water, which is about 8 to 10 times higher than piped water, so that total household expenditures are often much higher than the utility bill. Prices paid to water vendors are 4 to 8 JD per m³. In 2007 it was estimated that an average poor household with 6 members in the Middle Governorates spends 31-39 JD per year on its water and sewer bill at a consumption of 70 liter/capita/day, corresponding to only 0.4% of household expenditures. However, if other items are added the picture changes substantially: it costs 35 JD per year to depreciate the cost of a 2 m³ rooftop storage tank over 10 years; 160 JD per year to buy 2 liters/capita/day of bottled water at a price of 0.04 JD per liter (0.80 JD per canister of 5 gallons); and 153 JD per year to buy the equivalent of 28 liters/capita/day at a price of 2.50 JD/m³ from water vendors. This amounts to 374 JD per year and household, corresponding to 6.3% of expenditures. In addition, for households not connected to the sewer network the cost of emptying septic tanks at a cost between 21 and 40 JD per load needs to be added to calculate total water and sanitation expenditures. In conclusion, the cost of the water bill thus is only a fraction of total water expenditures, and household water expenditures could be lowered significantly if a sufficient quantity of good quality water was supplied on a reliable basis.[5]

Jordan's Water Strategy 2009–2022 includes investments of Jordanian Dinar 5.86 billion (US$8.24 billion) over a period of 15 years, corresponding to more than 160% of Jordan's GDP.[17] According to an earlier water sector investment plan for the time from 1998 to 2010 (published in 1997), the estimated costs for water projects were US$1,916 million, while sanitation projects were estimated at US$926 million, corresponding to about US$240 million per year.[79] Actual investments towards the end of that period were only slightly below these expected figures: They stood at 900m JD in the six years from 2005 to 2010, averaging 150m JD (US$215) or 28 JD (US$40) per capita.[6]

In the period 2005–10, public investments in water supply and sanitation were financed from the following sources:

• JD 325m (36%) through the sale of WAJ bonds:
• JD 305m (34%) by the Jordanian treasury;
• JD 255m (27%) through grants from foreign donors.
• JD 30m (3%) through foreign loans.

WAJ local currency bonds had a maturity of only three years, are government-guaranteed and pay 4 to 7% interest. WAJ debt increased by 900% to JD 621 million in only five years.[6] 73% of grants were provided by USAID. Since then, the share of loan financing in total financing has increased, including loans from Germany and France.

Additional financing not included in the figures above is obtained from private sources through Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) projects. There are two such projects in the water sector, one to finance the Samra wastewater treatment plant and the other and largest one to finance the Disi-Amman carrier. The latter is partially financed by about US$190 million of private equity from GAMA Energy, a joint venture between the Turkish firm GAMA Holding and the US firm General Electric Energy Financial Services. In addition, the government provided a grant of US$300 million and loans totaling US$475 million by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation of the United States, the European Investment Bank and Proparco of France.[80]

The European Investment Bank will lend the Jordanian government in 2023 €200 million for its participation to the Aqaba-Amman Water Desalination and Conveyance Project. This is Jordan's largest-ever water investment project's first confirmed finance. It will assist the country in addressing the difficulties of increasingly restricted water resources and adapting to climate change.[81]

The European Investment Bank (EIB) approved two loans for the rehabilitation of the water supply network in Greater Amman in 1996 and 1998 for a total of 49 million Euro. WAJ has benefited from 8 EIB loans amounting to 61.5 million Euro between 1984 and 1998.[82]

The Jordanian government has collaborated with the European Investment Bank and Team Europe, and other international agencies to come up with an infrastructure for the Aqaba-Amman Water Desalination and Conveyance Project. The project is estimated to cost €3 billion and will employ 4000 people throughout the building period.[83] The European Investment Bank first signed the funding to the project in December 2022, with a €200 million loan.[84]

The French Development Agency AFD and its private investment arm PROPARCO support the Disi-Amman conveyor through two projects, each of US$100 million, approved in 2009.[85]

Germany has been engaged in supporting the Jordanian water sector for several decades through three agencies: GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) in charge of technical cooperation, the development Bank KfW in charge of financial cooperation and the Federal Geological Agency BGR in charge of hydro-geological studies.

GIZ. The German technical cooperation agency GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) supports the Management of Water Resources Programme initiated in 2006. The Jordanian partner is the MWI. The main objective of the program is to increase sustainable use of the available water resources. Furthermore, it seeks to resolve conflicts between the different water demanding sectors, namely the domestic, industrial and agricultural sector. To achieve these objectives, the program "examines legal and institutional frameworks", offers training, supports the establishment of databases and sets up "organisational structures and processes to improve efficiency". The use of treated wastewater in agriculture and the establishment of water user associations is encouraged. GIZ works together with German companies which participate under the framework of a public-private partnership.[86]

KfW. The German government-owned development Bank KfW has a series of water and sanitation projects in Jordan with a total commitment of Euro 245m in 2009. The currently largest project supports the extension of sewer networks and the construction of a wastewater treatment plant in Irbid through a Euro 62.95m loan approved in 2000. The treated wastewater is to be reused for irrigated agriculture.[87] Other projects approved around 2000 include a Water Loss Reduction project for Irbid and Jerash (EUR 18.2 m loan), a Water Loss Reduction project for the Northern Governorates (EUR 21.7 m loan and EUR 3.5 m grant), a Water Loss Reduction project in Karak (EUR 16.2 m loan and EUR 2.24 m grant) and a sanitation project in Karak and Kofranjah (EUR 15m loan and EUR 1.45m in grants). In 2006, KfW approved another series of loans, including for a third project supporting the reduction of distribution losses in Amman in partnership with other donors through an 11m Euro loan with the objective of saving 2.5 million m³ of water per year, enough to provide 70,000 beneficiaries with water.[88] Other projects approved around 2006 include a project for water transmission in the Northern Governorates (EUR 15 m loan) and a project for water management in the Middle Governorates (EUR 5.3 m loan). In 2009, KfW modified its cooperation with Jordan from a project approach to a program approach, bundling its new funding in a single "Water Resources Management Program" (2009–2014) that covers water loss reduction, sanitation and the use of reclaimed water from Irbid for irrigation in the Northern Jordan Valley. The new program approach is expected to allow flexible responses to changing circumstances.

Past projects financed by KfW include a water supply project in Wadi Musa; an integrated poverty-oriented project targeted at refugees and squatters which included investments in water supply and sanitation; sewage disposal for Greater Irbid; and a trunk sewer and associated pumping stations linking up to the wastewater treatment plant As-Samra near Amman. In Wadi Musa the Euro 11.3 million project achieved, for a brief period, continuous water supply as well as a reduction in distribution losses. The project was co-financed by France and, concerning sanitation, by the US.[25] The Euro 16.3 m poverty-oriented infrastructure project implemented by the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) of Jordan increased access to water and sanitation in two squatter settlements and four refugee camps. The investments in the camps were chosen in close dialogue with the residents who were organized in Community Improvement Committees, and were carried out between 1999 and 2002.[89] The project complemented the World Bank-financed Community Infrastructure Development Project.[90] The Euro 60.1 m Greater Irbid sewage disposal project (1994–2002) included the construction of two wastewater treatment plants and the associated sewer infrastructure connecting 202,000 residents, as well as training for operational staff. Both treatment plants operated satisfactorily four years after they had been completed. Residual sludge is being properly disposed on a landfill.[51]

Japan supports the Jordanian water sector primarily through three projects:

• Improving water supply in Zarqa Governorate (4.1bn Yen or about US$41 million grants from 2002 to 2010), including through loss reduction, reaching a total of 780,000 residents in East Zarqa (Awajan) and Russeifa (Phase I) and in Zarqa City (West Zarqa), Hashmeyeh and Sukhna (Phase II).[91]
• Reduction of non-revenue water (NRW) through technical assistance, beginning in Amman in 1999,[92] followed by pilot activities in parts of 10 governorates (2005–2008) and eight more pilot activities in six governorates during a "Phase 2" (2009–2011). During Phase 2 non-revenue water in the pilot areas was reduced from an average of 49% to only 22%, according to JICA.[91]
• Energy conservation through the upgrading of the water supply network in Zarqa Governorate (about US$12 million) since 2009. The program also includes technical assistance for operation and maintenance.

Japanese aid is in the form of grants administered by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Japanese assistance is tied, meaning that consultants and contractors have to be from Japan. An important completed project supported by Japan was the doubling the capacity of Zai Water Treatment Plant on the carrier from Deirala in the Jordan Valley to Amman to 250 million liter/day, covering a population of 1.9 million people (US$79.1 million grant, 1998–2001).[92]

US assistance to the water and sanitation sector in Jordan is provided through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

USAID support for infrastructure. Under the Wadi Ma’in, Zara and Mujib water treatment and conveyance project, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded a water treatment plant that delivers 100,000 m³ of water per day to about 700,000 people in the Greater Amman area. The treatment plant captures water from brackish streams which is desalinated using reverse osmosis. The remaining highly saline water (brine) is discharged to the Dead Sea.[93] Also in Amman, in addition to the $125 million Zara Ma’in Water Supply project mentioned above, USAID partially funded the construction of the As Samra $167 million build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract for wastewater treatment of 60 million m³ per year. Approximately 46% of the cost was provided by USAID in the form of a grant. Furthermore, USAID is implementing a $72 million component of the multi-donor rehabilitation of Amman's potable water distribution system. In Aqaba, USAID also supported the rehabilitation and expansion of a $31 million wastewater treatment plant and rehabilitation of the water distribution system.[45]

Technical assistance and training by USAID. The USAID-funded Watershed Management project strengthened the relationship between the Ministries of Health and Water related to water standards and regulations, Quality Assurance/Quality Control program for laboratories, and new procedures that aim at reducing water treatment plant shutdowns. A Water Demand Management (WDM) Unit was established at the Ministry of Water and Irrigation with assistance from USAID, and a WDM curriculum has been inserted into Jordanian classroom textbooks from grades 1 through 11. A Master's degree program has been established at Jordan University of Science and Technology, and journalists have been trained. Auditing and retrofitting of public and private buildings (hotels, schools, hospitals, government and commercial) indicated that 40 to 60% are now using water-saving devices. A “model” community was rehabilitated to demonstrate water and associated energy conservation. Twenty-seven grants have been awarded to poor communities to alleviate water shortages and inefficient water usage. Furthermore, training courses under a program with Washington State University have been completed for more than 800 employees from the Jordan Valley Authority, Water Authority of Jordan and Ministry of Water and Irrigation to improve and standardize accounting systems, and to improve efficiency.[45]

Millennium Challenge Corporation. In October 2010, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and the Jordanian government signed a US$275.1m grant agreement to expand water distribution, wastewater collection and the As Samra wastewater treatment plant, all in the Zarqa governorate.[94]

From 1999 to 2007, the World Bank contributed with US$55 million to the Amman Water and Sanitation Management Project. One objective of the project was to lay the groundwork for sustainable private participation in the sector through a management contract. According to the World Bank, although the management was not extended, "the management operator was able to comply substantially with 12 of 15 performance targets" and, in the seven and a half years of the project, "the practice of modern utility management was introduced, and the accountability of the operator was established".[59]