Water supply suspended in Zarqa since Saturday evening

AMMAN — Water supply in Zarqa Governorate on Sunday remained suspended due to damages to the main carrier supplying the country's third largest city following construction works, an official said.

The Jordan Water Company's (Miyahuna) official told The Jordan Times that water distribution in many parts of Zarqa, 22km northeast of Amman, will be delayed due to damage to the main pipeline which transfers water from Azraq Pumping Station to Zarqa.

"A contractor broke the 60-centimetre-wide Azraq water conveyor on Saturday evening during construction works. The water distribution programme to subscribers will be delayed for the next 24 hours," the official said at noon on Sunday.

Work is now under way to fix the pipe, the official said, noting that the contractor will incur the expenses.

Um Murtada, a resident of Hashimiyeh district, which is being affected by the water suspension, described the timing of the water cut as “terrible”.

"This is bad news. I heard that a heatwave will start affecting the country tomorrow and we are going to miss our turn in receiving water during this very hot week; this is terrible," the housewife and mother of four, told The Jordan Times.

Miyahuna provides services to 150,000 subscribers in Zarqa, 70 per cent of whom are linked to the sewage network.

Water loss during the second half of 2016 in Zarqa amounted to 53.6 per cent, a 61.5 per cent decrease from the first half of the year, according to official figures.

The current distribution programme provides water supply in the governorate for 36 hours per week, with households receiving water once during a certain period, usually every 7 to10 days, on a rotating basis.

Scarce water resources in the country have compelled the Kingdom to initiate the programme in the early 1980s to conserve its limited resources while ensuring a sustainable supply of water.