Major dams one-third full after latest rain

AMMAN — The Kingdom’s 10 major dams now store a third of their total capacity of 325 million cubic metres (mcm), according to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation.

The dams now hold 98mcm or 30 per cent of their total capacity, according to figures released by the ministry on Wednesday.

As rainfall started late this wet season, the figures indicate that water levels at the dams remain well below the amount stored during this period last year, when they held 143.4mcm or 44 per cent of their total capacity.

Between Tuesday and Wednesday morning, the dams received 3.148mcm of rainwater, according to an official at the ministry, who noted that Waleh, Mujib and Tannour dams did not receive any additional rainwater.

Rainfall until Wednesday morning raised the amount of rain since the start of the wet season to over 1.727 billion cubic metres, constituting 21 per cent of the long term annual average of rain of 8.1 billion cubic metres, according to the official.

Irbid Governorate, 80km north of Amman, registered the highest amount of rain between Tuesday and Wednesday morning, according to the ministry, which indicated that Maan Governorate, 220km south of the capital, received the lowest amount of rain during the same period.

Meanwhile, Water Minister Hazem Nasser said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times that construction on three ponds in the southern desert in Maan Governorate has commenced to store 100,000 cubic metres of rainwater each.

The ponds, which will cost JD409,000, are funded by the environmental compensations programme and will be implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment.