Wadi Al Karak Dam now operational, can hold 2m cubic metres of water

AMMAN — Wadi Al Karak Dam began storing water on Tuesday, after construction on the Kingdom’s 12th main reservoir was completed, according to officials.

Located in Karak Governorate, 150km south of Amman, the dam is designed to hold 2 million cubic meters (mcm) of water, Minister of Water and Irrigation Hazem Nasser said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

The dam is storing rain and floodwater for the irrigation of crops and livestock in Karak, according to Nasser, who officially launched the dam on Tuesday.

He noted that construction of the dam seeks to increase water supply in Karak, support the local communities by providing water for the irrigation of several types of cultivations and also recharge underground aquifers.

Karak, which has a population of 316,629 according to the 2015 population census, is home to several of the country’s main wells, streams and dams. 

Water per capita in Karak stands at 180-200 litres per day, according to the Water Ministry, which describes the amount as above average.

However, 50-60 per cent of the supplied water is lost through leakage due to violations and deteriorated water networks, pipes and pumping stations.

Construction of the dam commenced in October 2014 at a total cost of JD11 million, according to the ministry’s spokesperson, Omar Salameh, who indicated that the US Department of Agriculture provided JD7.5 million as a grant and the Treasury provided JD3.5 million.

Wadi Al Karak Dam is one of several dams the ministry is constructing in different regions of the country to increase water storage, including the Kufranjah Dam in Ajloun Governorate, some 70km northwest of Amman, Salameh noted.

Kufranjah Dam, not officially launched yet, is designed to hold 7.8mcm of water, according to the ministry, whose recent figures indicate that it now stores more than 15 per cent of its total capacity.

In 2014, the ministry announced a water harvesting plan to raise rainwater storage in dams by over 25 per cent within five years. Under the plan, new dams are being constructed to raise the overall storage capacity from 327mcm to more than 400mcm.

The plan entails the construction of new dams and scores of sand dams, desert dams and ponds in the badia to meet the water needs of local communities, and recharge underground aquifers to improve their water quality, according to the ministry.

Twelve major dams are located across the Kingdom, in addition to more than 143 large ponds to collect floodwater in the desert and over 25 sand dams.

Although expensive to build, dams are vital for the Kingdom to secure its water needs, according to experts.