‘Subscribers owe Miyahuna JD17m in unpaid dues’

AMMAN — Subscribers owe the Jordan Water Company (Miyahuna) a total of JD17 million, with some unpaidbills dating back more than 20 years, the CEO, Munir Oweis, said Sunday.

The company collected around JD77,000 from subscribers in 2014, Oweis said, noting that there are some 450 cases in court to collect upaid dues from subscribers.

Miyahuna discovered 4,689 violations in 2014 that were related to manipulating water gauges, while the number of similar incidents between the beginning of this year and the end of June stood at 1,923 cases, the CEO added, noting that the water loss in Amman is around 37 per cent.

There are around 600,000 Miyahuna subscribers in Amman and 150,000 in Zarqa.

Water Ministry Spokesperson Omar Salameh said there are around 1,000 cases related to assaults on water resources in court, three of which are currently being examined with fines totalling around JD4 million.

Salameh added that since the launch of a campaign to curb water assaults in June 2013, authorities have sealed over 644 illegal wells, seized and confiscated more than 159 drilling rigs and dismantled over 16,100 illegal fixtures on water mains.

He also noted that violations on Treasury lands in the Jordan Valley stood at 883, and there were 4,104 violations on the King Abdullah Canal since the beginning of the campaign.

Studies show there is a real threat to the groundwater reserves if such violations continue, while official figures indicate that water theft and illegal use are behind around 70 per cent of water loss in the Kingdom.

According to sources at the Water Ministry, unpaid dues for water services stand at around JD120 million.

Also on Sunday, the ministry said it discovered new violations on water mains and carriers in Khan Al Zabib, Um Al Amad, Qastal and Wadi Al Seer.

Violations also included an attempt to dig a well in Ramtha with a capacity of more than 15,000 cubic metres of drinking water to use for irrigation and to sell it.

All illegal fixtures were dismantled, the suspects were detained and the caes were referred to the prosecutor general.