250-metre deep illegal well discovered in Ramtha

AMMAN — Authorities on Tuesday raided a site in Ramtha in Irbid Governorate where they ended the illegal drilling of a well, according to an official source.

A team from the Water Authority of Jordan, the Yarmouk Water Company, the Public Security Department and the Gendarmerie raided the location at dawn on Tuesday, where they discovered an illegal well being drilled, the source at the Ministry of Water and Irrigation said.

“The drilling of the well was reaching its final stages, as the well’s depth was 250 metres. The suspects tried to hide the well by covering it with dirt and debris, which the team removed using the ministry’s machineries,” the source, who preferred to remain unnamed, told The Jordan Times.

Authorities are now tracking down the violators, according to the official, who said that they fled the scene before authorities arrived.

The majority of cases of illegal drilling of wells have been recorded in Ramtha and Mafraq, which sit on some of the country’s main aquifers, the official said, adding that the drilling of wells in Jordan was strictly banned to protect underground water levels from declining further.

The ministry banned the drilling of wells in 1998 to limit random pumping of water in order to preserve aquifers from depletion and salinity.

The ministry urged the public to contact its unified water emergency number on 117116 to report any suspected violations against the water network and resources.

An ongoing campaign, launched by the ministry in the summer of 2013, seeks to end water theft and violations against the Kingdom’s water resources. 

The campaign has seen the retrieval of millions of cubic metres of stolen water and the prevention of the drilling of illegal wells, according to the ministry, whose recent figures indicated that over 30,000 violations on water mains and resources have been prevented up until May of this year.

Over 17 teams started carrying out continuous checks on water resources and networks across the country, with authorities sealing 890 illegal wells and seizing 51 drilling rigs, which were being used for illegal activities, the ministry added.

Stiffer penalties for infractions against the water system have also been introduced under the amended Water Authority of Jordan Law.

Those who abuse water carriers and mains, wastewater, pumping, purification or desalination stations, cause the pollution of water resources, pipes or stations used for drinking water, dig or are involved in the digging of wells without obtaining a licence face a prison sentence of up to five years and fines of up to JD7,000.

In addition, violators of water and wastewater projects can be jailed for up to three years and fined up to JD5,000 under the amendments.

All penalties stipulated under the law are doubled in the case of repeat offences.