June 12, 2001
Jordanians have grown accustomed to water rationing every summer. Or should we actually say that they have grown accustomed to rationing all year round, as water in winter is in many areas supplied no more generously than in summer?
This summer, the Water Authority even announced the new distribution schedule five days after it was applied. But by now most citizens have got so used to struggling with the scarce supplies of the precious liquid that there were fewer complaints about the belated announcement than expected.
Coping with scarce natural resources and finding ways to make up for the neglect that Mother Nature has long shown towards our land is part of Jordanian history and culture.
Still, this should not result in condoning abuse, misuse, and fraud. Donor countries have financed over the past few years scores of surveys and studies showing that some 40 per cent of Amman's water resources go unaccounted for. This means that a great percentage of our water is either "stolen" or wasted due to the inefficiency of the distribution network. Things have slightly improved since foreign investors have taken over the management of part of the distribution network in the capital, but a lot still needs to be done.
We all can see every day roads flooded with water because of leakages in the network, and many readers have written to us complaining that all their attempts to contact the offices responsible for maintaining and fixing the pipes have been to no avail.
The US, Germany and Italy have recently started concerted efforts to upgrade the Amman network, but all this foreign help will take us nowhere unless we also upgrade the efficiency and capabilities of our maintenance personnel and mechanisms.
If the situation in Amman is bad, it is plain scandalous in rural areas, including the Jordan Valley. It is a well-known fact that a handful of prominent families — the so-called "aristocracy" of the country — control a high percentage of water resources in the valley, paying too little money for them.
All over the Kingdom, more or less illegal water wells — prominent local families very often find creative ways to legalise their wells — deplete resources that we can no longer afford to give away for free.
Successive governments have pledged firm and severe action against such practices, but obviously they have not achieved much. Fraud and abuse continue not only at the expense of all Jordanian citizens and the national economy, but also while the government is forced to scramble for funding of huge projects, such as a conveyance system to supply Amman with Disi water, a joint dam with Syria, or desalination plants.
Our water situation is an emergency, and it should be dealt with as such. An estimated water deficit of 26 million cubic metres this summer is no joke. If the average Jordanian family is required to survive with water being supplied to homes only once a week, then the powerful should be required to either consume less water or pay more for it.
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