Senate president calls for ‘transparency’ in addressing Kingdom’s water scarcity 

AMMAN — Senate President Faisal Fayez on Tuesday called for "transparency and clarity" in addressing water shortages and keeping the public updated on the available means to meet the Kingdom's water needs.

During a Senate Agriculture and Water Committee meeting, attended by Minister of Water and Irrigation Mohammad Najjar and Agriculture Minister Khaled Hneifat, Fayez said that the meeting sought to come up with a "clear vision" about the reality of the water situation in the Kingdom, and the possibility of self-reliance without help from regional states.

Fayez spoke of the need to come up with “a reliable report”, and “not rely on contradictory statements or figures”, to keep citizens informed about the financial challenges facing the water sector "with the highest levels of transparency", the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The Senate president also said that seawater desalination is a "strategic solution to preserve national water security, which is a cornerstone of food and agricultural security", stressing the importance of water pits and dams across the country, especially in desert and badia regions.

Najjar said that in ratio to its population, Jordan needs 11 billion cubic metres of water for various uses, only 10 per cent of which is currently available.

The physical water loss does not exceed 35 per cent, and the other loss is due to the errors of meters with a life span of three to five years, he said. He added that meters had been renewed in most areas of Aqaba, which led to a 12 per cent reduction in water loss.

Hneifat said that the ministry has "an ambitious" short-term plan to establish 100 water pits and dams in the new year, noting that funding has been secured for about 60 of them.

The long-term plan entails drilling 500 boreholes and 50,000 wells over the next five years, he added.