TITLE:
Water Demand Management in Jordan
AUTHORS:
Nadhir Al-Ansari, N. Alibrahiem, M. Alsaman, Sven Knutsson
KEYWORDS:
Water Management; Water Demand Management; Water Scarcity; Jordan
JOURNAL NAME:
Engineering,
Vol.6 No.1,
January
13,
2014
ABSTRACT: Jordan is located
in the Middle East in the eastern Mediterranean. It has a surface area of
approximately 90,000 km2 and its population reaches 6.3 million.
Jordan is the fourth driest countries in the World and water demand exceeds
Jordan’s available water
resources. Annual per capita water availability has declined from 3600 m3/year in 1946 to 145 m3/year
today. It is estimated that the population will continue to grow from about
5.87 million in 2008 to over 7.80 million by 2022. Total projected water demand
will be 1673 million cubic meters by 2022. Fifteen-year complete records for water consumption
were studied to see the supply and demand variation with time. It had been
noticed that water demand management will address the actual needs for water. This
management program will ensure further reduction in water use, reduce water
loses through the distribution supply net, prevent pollution. In addition, it
will help minimize water
disposal in nature, make efficient
use of available water resources, plan for future new water resources prudently and finally impose a real
cost for water supply that would be acceptable. In addition to the above,
public awareness program is to be put in action. Such a program should be used
in schools as well as the media. The public is to be aware of the problem and
how they can assist with overcoming the water shortage crisis.