After annual inspections ‘dams ready to store rainwater’ — ministry

AMMAN — The country’s 14 major dams are ready to store rainwater, according to a government official, who said that a team of geologists and engineers concluded the country’s annual check-up on the dams in preparation for the winter season.

The committee tasked with inspecting the dams ahead of every rainy season at the Jordan Valley Authority submitted to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation its report detailing the situation of the dams.

“The dams are ready to store the rainwater,” ministry spokesperson, Omar Salameh said on Sunday.

The official highlighted that if the committee of experts detects any fault in any of the dams, it notifies the national higher committee on the safety of dams.

“The dams have been receiving huge and raging flashfloods with no incidents over the past decade,” Salameh told The Jordan Times.

In the case of a dam reaching its full capacity, the ministry said it follows a system of notifying authorities and district governors before opening floodgates to release excess water, he underscored.

“Every dam is equipped with a system that measures the amount of water that enters or exits the reservoir. If a dam reaches its full capacity and we need to let out excess water, we notify the district governor, concerned municipalities, the Civil Defence Department and the Public Security Department in order for them to take necessary precautionary measures,” Salameh highlighted.

The ministry has had to open the floodgates of Waleh and Mujib dams in Madaba and Karak several times over the past decade after they reached their maximum capacity.

“In every case, we notified all the concerned authorities in order for them to warn those downstream of the dam,” Salameh said.

Recent official figures indicate that the country’s main dams hold approximately 77 million cubic metres (mcm) of water or 22.5 per cent of their total storage capacity of 336.4mcm.