Abstract Groundwater resources are essential in Jordan that require careful plan-ning and management in order to sustain human socio-economic development andvarious ecosystems. However these vital resources are under the threat of degra-dation by both mismanagement and over-exploitation that leads to contaminationand decline of water levels. A new by-law, which specifically addresses pollutionprevention and protection of water resources used for domestic purposes throughappropriate land use restriction and zoning, is currently under preparation in Jordan.This law (i.e., Groundwater Management Policy) addresses the management ofgroundwater resources including development, protection, management, and reduc-ing abstraction for each renewable aquifer to the sustainable rate (i.e., safe yield).Groundwater vulnerability mapping and delineation of groundwater protectionzones were implemented in different areas in Jordan in cooperation between theGerman Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR) company andMinistry of Water and Irrigation. This paper presents the status of groundwaterresources in Jordan and their major issues. It attempts to discuss the groundwatervulnerability and protection strategy and the impacts of over-exploitation on thegroundwater aquifers in an integrated water resources management perspective.
A. El-Naqa (B) · A. Al-ShayebFaculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Hashemite University, Zarqa,P.O. Box 150459, Jordane-mail: [email protected]
The scarcity of water resources is one of the main challenges for Jordan. It is alimiting factor for economic development especially for agriculture. Rapid increasesin population, agriculture and industrial development have placed heavy demandson water resources. Jordan’s population reached 5.3 million in 2003 and is growingat a very high annual rate of 3.6% (Department of Statistics (DOS) 2004).
Jordan is considered among the poorest countries in the world in terms of waterresources. Its climate is generally arid, with more than 90% of Jordan’s total areareceiving less than 200 mm rainfall per year and more than 70% of the countryreceiving less than 100 mm of precipitation on a year. Only around 2% of the landarea, located in the north-western highlands, has an annual precipitation exceeding300 mm. The northern highlands may receive as much as 600 mm. About 5.5% ofJordan’s area is considered dry land with annual rainfall ranging from 200 to 300(Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI) 2001).
The average annual abstraction from groundwater basins in Jordan exceeds therenewable average of recharge and currently stands at 159% of that average. Theover pumping ratio ranges between 146% in minor aquifers and 235% in major ones.This situation could not be tolerated, and decisions were taken to treat the situation.
The difference between the amounts of renewable water and the amount extractedis slowly leading to depletion and salinisation of the country’s groundwater resources(MWI 2001). This situation is being made worse by degradation processes affectingsurface and ground water resources in different parts of the country. This is limitingtheir use to activities such as some agricultural and industrial use that can cope withthe higher levels of salinity (MWI 2001). This of course is affecting the country’spresent generation of water users (water pollution, lower water quality in household,interruptions in supply, higher pumping cost due to lowered water levels. . . etc.)(MWI 2001).
In order to protect and conserve the groundwater resources in Jordan a NationalGroundwater Management Policy was issued in 1998 (MWI 2001). This policyemphasizes the need to protect groundwater resources from over abstraction andrelated quality degradation, as well as pollution, and give priority in use of theresources to municipal and industrial uses. The Ground Water Management Policyconsiders also the monitoring of groundwater resources and protection of rechargeareas of aquifers as important factors in safeguarding the quality of groundwaterresources. In terms of minimizing over-abstraction of aquifers, the policy stresses theneed to stop illegal drilling and meter all water wells. Furthermore, several measureshave been implemented to protect aquifers from degradation and over abstraction.These measures included delineation of groundwater protection zones, preparationof groundwater vulnerability maps, establishment of groundwater monitoring direc-torate within the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, and issuance of the groundwaterby-law in 2002. The Groundwater Control By-Law regulates groundwater welllicensing, drilling, and water abstraction. A tariff was set in the regulation for waterabstracted over and above the permitted annual abstraction rate (WAJ 2007).
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2 Groundwater Resources in Jordan
Groundwater is considered to be the major source of water in Jordan, and theonly source of water in some areas of the country. Twelve groundwater basinshave been identified in Jordan (Fig. 1). Groundwater resources are concentratedmainly in the Yarmouk, Amman-Zarqa and Dead Sea basins. The Groundwaterbasins are very scarce and vary in quantity and quality (Al-Halasah 2003). Thesebasins are constituted from three main aquifer systems which known as the upperaquifer system, intermediate aquifer system and deep aquifer system. Groundwaterresources are of two types: renewable and nonrenewable fossil groundwater. Thesafe yield of renewable groundwater basins is around 275 million m3. In the year2003, 396 million m3 was abstracted from renewable groundwater (150% of the safeyield) and 88 million m3 from fossil water (Table 1). Fossil groundwater aquifersreceive no or only a very small amount of recharge. Fossil aquifers are non-renewableand are found mostly in the southeastern parts of Jordan. The most important non-renewable groundwater resources are the Disi and Jafr fossil aquifers. Currently theDisi aquifer is used to supply the city of Aqaba with water for domestic purposes, andis being used for agricultural purposes in the Disi area (Jaber and Mohsen 2001). Theutilizable fossil ground water is estimated at 90 MCM/year for a period of 100 years(Mohsen and Al-Jayyousi 1999).
Some renewable groundwater resources are presently exploited to their maximumcapacity, and in some cases beyond safe yield. The annual deficit in the water balanceis estimated at around 240 MCM/year (Margane et al. 2002). Overexploitation ofgroundwater aquifers, beyond the annual potential replenishable quantities, hasand will contribute significantly to the degradation of groundwater quality in theexploited aquifers, and endangers the sustainability of these resources for future use.
The protection of groundwater quality is a very complex issue. It concerns notonly groundwater but also surface water resources, since there is a strong relationshipbetween both of them. Groundwater may discharge into surface water (influent con-dition) and vice versa (effluent condition). Thus, the protection of groundwater andsurface water is nowadays often implemented in so-called watershed managementplans for surface water catchment areas, in order to protect the water quality notonly at selected places, such as springs and water wells used for water supply, but inthe entire catchment area.
The total quantity of groundwater is 418.5 MCM, in which 275.5 MCM fromrenewable groundwater and 143 MCM from non-renewable groundwater. The agri-cultural sector uses about 54% of groundwater. The municipal sector uses about 40%of ground water, and the remaining (6%) is used for industrial activity (Table 2)(DOS 2004).
It is important to note that the current use of ground water exceeds availablerenewable supplies, and non-renewable water is being abstracted. Jordan coversthe increasing deficit through over drafting of highland aquifers and exploitation ofnon-renewable groundwater. In 2004, the over drafting of groundwater resourcesexceeded 230 MCM (Margane et al. 2004).
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Fig. 1 Groundwater basins in Jordan (MWI 2001)
The depletion of ground water varies from one ground water basin to another. Insome basins the over pumping of ground water exceeds by three times the safe yield,on the other hand the abstraction of water from other basins can be much less thanthe safe yield. This situation reflects the geographical distribution of water resourcesbetween ground water basins and the distribution of users. To reduce the immediate
Groundwater protection and management strategy in Jordan 2383
Table 1 Ground water resources in Jordan (National Water Master Plan (NWMP) 2003)
Ground water basins Safe yield Total extraction Balance Percent of(MCM/year) (MCM) (MCM/year) safe yield
cost of transferring water and the cost of establishing infrastructure to do this, peopleincrease water abstraction from the nearest basin which leads to an unsustainabledependence on the resource.
Figure 2 shows the decline of water level in an observation well in Amman-ZarqaBasin (i.e. B2/A7) aquifer, where the water levels drops about 15 m in 40 years.
3 Effects of Groundwater Over-Abstraction
Groundwater over-abstraction is often accompanied by increases in salinity andpollution. These are environmental problems in their own right, and also limit theeffective availability of groundwater for many uses. Water quality deterioration in
Table 2 Ground water resources and use (DOS 2004)
Ground water basin Safe yield Water usage (MCM) Total Balance Safe yield(MCM) Municipal Industry Agriculture use (%)
Fig. 2 Decline of groundwater level in Amman-Zarqa Basin (WAJ 2002)
Jordan is, for example, considered to be mainly due to the extensive exploitationof groundwater resources without taking into consideration the safe yield of theaquifers. The hydrographs and water quality trend data for key aquifers in Jordanindicate a strong relationship between water levels and water quality declines.As water levels decline, TDS (total dissolved solids) levels increase. In additionto quality problems stemming from groundwater overdraft, point and non-pointsource contamination from agriculture, industrial and domestic uses are also a majorproblem in Jordan.
In Jordan, the main remaining options to increase groundwater supply are artifi-cial groundwater recharge, the use of groundwater of marginal quality, and the useof nonrenewable groundwater.
The sustainable annual groundwater abstraction rates for the different ground-water basins in Jordan is shown in Fig. 3. Groundwater abstraction rates within thegiven limits are recommended for a sustainable groundwater management (NWMP2003). One of the main objectives for the future is the reduction of groundwaterabstraction to the level of safe yield to guarantee a sustainable use of the scarcegroundwater resources in Jordan. Table 3 shows the proposed reduction of ground-water abstraction that can be achieved by the year 2020. If this goal is not achieved,irreparable damages of groundwater will occur, leading to a further reduction of theusable groundwater resources as well as deterioration of their qualities.
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Fig. 3 Sustainable annual groundwater abstraction rates for the different groundwater basins inJordan (NWMP 2003)
Table 3 Projectedgroundwater abstractions perbasin (MCM/year) from 2010to 2020
The Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI) is the official body responsible forthe overall monitoring of the water sector, water supply and wastewater systemand the related projects, planning and management, the formulation of nationalwater strategies and policies, research and development, information systems andprocurement of financial resources. Its role also includes the provision of centralizedwater related data, standardization and consolidation of data. Since its establishmentin 1992, MWI has been supported by several donor organization projects that haveassisted in the development of water policy and water master planning as well asrestructuring the water sector.
The Ministry of Water and Irrigation MWI embraces the two most importantentities dealing with water in Jordan:
The Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ): WAJ is a financially and administrativelyautonomous body, established in 1988 under the Water Authority Law No.18, withthe full responsibility of carrying out water and wastewater projects in Jordan.
The Jordan Valley Authority (JVA); responsible for the socio-economic develop-ment of the Jordan Rift Valley (north and south of the Dead Sea), including waterresources development, management, distribution of irrigation water, land recla-mation and development, tourism development and environmental improvementand protection. JVA is mandated to plan, design, construct, operate and maintainirrigation projects, dams and hydroelectric power stations in the Valley.
The basic strategy and policies for the water sector in Jordan are compiledand published in Jordan’s Water Strategy and Policies (MWI 1998). The depletionof groundwater aquifers was assigned by the policy as the major problem facingJordan’s water sector. This will put the sustainability of irrigation in the highlandsand the desert in great danger. The policy sets specific objectives and principlesfor groundwater use and management. Particular emphasis has been placed on thepotential of brackish water desalination for drinking purposes.
The groundwater management policy (MWI 1998) addressed the management ofgroundwater resources, covering development, protection, and reducing abstractionfrom each renewable aquifer to sustainable rates. The depletion of groundwateraquifers was assigned by the policy as the major problem facing Jordan’s watersector. This will put the sustainability of irrigation in the highlands and the desertin great danger. Therefore, legal and financial measures have to be implemented togradually reduce groundwater withdrawals to the safe yield of aquifers. This maybe achieved through planned use of fossil groundwater for municipal and industrialuses. The policy viewed wastewater as a strategic water resource that should be usedin an environmentally sound manner. Industries will be encouraged to recycle partof their wastewater and to treat the rest to acceptable standards. Brackish waterwas considered to have the highest potential, among non-conventional resources, toaugment the country’s water resources. It can be used directly or after desalination.The policy indicated inadequate investments in distribution systems and lowerefficiency than other services in the water supply sector.
On resource development, the policy states that development of groundwaterreservoirs shall be commenced only after careful studies are made of the potential
Groundwater protection and management strategy in Jordan 2387
of each, and observation wells installed in carefully chosen locations to monitor thereservoir during exploitation.
In order to mitigate the problems related to the decline of groundwater levels anddegradation of water quality of some aquifers in the country, a new UndergroundWater Control By-Law (No. 85) (WAJ 2002) was developed in 2002 and lateramended to control over-drafting of groundwater, illegal well drilling, provide forsubstantive penalties for illegal use and motivate farmers to use brackish ground-water in irrigation. Other measures include continuous enhancement of the ground-water quantity and quality monitoring networks, substitution of fresh groundwaterwith marginal water (brackish, treated wastewater) in agriculture, and adoptingstrategies for the reduction of groundwater abstractions, to reach the safe yield levelsof 275 MCM/year by the year 2020 within the scope of Water Master Planning.
In the Water Control By-Law (No. 85), in Article 16 states that in case of waterpollution or over-abstraction the Water Authority has the duty to stop the source ofpollution or over-pumping in order to reinstate the previous conditions. Accordingto Article 25 the distance between wells shall not be less than 1,000 m. In addition,an abstraction license is valid without time limit. According to Article 29 a maximumamount of withdrawal is set for each well. For abstraction from wells for touristic andindustrial purposes the holder of the license has to pay 250 fils per m3 (∼0.37US$)for every cubic meter abstracted. For abstraction from wells for irrigation purposesthe holder of the license has to pay 250 fils per m3 if the amount abstracted exceedsthe maximum allowable amount of 50,000 m3/year.
5 Groundwater Management Strategy in Jordan
The law states that water is public property and under control of the government. Inthe early 1990s, the MWI established a by law prohibiting the drilling of new wellsin most parts of the country, where aquifers were afflicted by depletion and qualitydegradation. The MWI was carried out all over the country to register wells, measurecoordinates and obtain information on depth, water level, year of drilling, water use,etc. As a result, the Ministry has established a databank to register nearly all wellsin the country whether they are licensed or illegal. The total number of wells in 2000was 2,449; of which 1,830 were used for irrigation, 450 for municipal supply and 169for mainly industrial uses. In 1998, a new regulation was issued, charging a price forall extracted groundwater for municipal, industrial, and commercial uses, excludingirrigation. The charge was a flat rate of US$0.15/m3. All wells were metered on aregular basis by the MWI, which collected fees based on the abstraction volume. In1999, the charge was raised to $0.37/m3 (MWI 2001).
The MWI also took an important step to install meters on all wells including thoseused for irrigation. The first objective was to measure the abstracted volume of waterfrom all wells. The second objective was to remind farmers that they are allowed toabstract only the amounts of water stated on their drilling licenses. Farmers resistedthe installation of meters and some of them even destroyed meters at the beginning.To address the issue, the Ministry announced it would close any wells in which theowner hindered or destroyed the installation of the meter. Now, the Ministry is proudof the fact that the enforcement rate is about 95%. Farmers were also asked to payfor the amount of water exceeding the limits in the licenses. As a result, farmers
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gradually stopped selling water to others. Prior to this, they would frequently abstractwater not included in the licenses for trade (MWI 2001).
In 2002, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a new pricing policy on irrigationwater—even on amounts already granted in existing licenses—with a block tariffsystem, where charges increase in relation to the amounts of water extracted. TheMinistry instituted this new policy after conducting intensive and difficult negoti-ations with farmers’ representatives. The new pricing system will go into effect in3 years. Details of the block tariff are: abstractions from one single well of lessthan 150,000 m3 remain free of charge; abstractions of 150,000 to 200,000 m3 willbe charged at the rate of US$0.036/m3; and abstractions over 200,000 m3 will becharged at US$0.09/m3. The introduction of this new pricing policy of irrigation wateris expected to reduce greatly the amount of pumping water used for irrigation.
6 Groundwater Protection Policy
The policy states on resource protection and sustainability the protection of rechargeareas, well licensing, abstraction permits and rates; and assessment of water quality.
The MWI with the cooperation of the German company BGR was proposedthe groundwater protection guidelines that have been issued in 2006. A new by-law addresses protection of groundwater resources through appropriate land userestrictions. Furthermore, groundwater vulnerability mapping and delineation ofgroundwater protection zones were implemented. Margane et al. (2006) defined agroundwater protection area as an area around a drinking water supply (the sizeand extent of which is given by the catchment area of a well or spring), which hasrestrictions on land use and human activities. This definition is independent of theaquifer type (e.g. porous, bedrock, or karst aquifer).
In Jordan the following zoning system for groundwater protection areas areproposed to be applied (Table 4):
Table 4 Zoning scheme for groundwater protection zones in Jordan (Margane et al. 2006)
Zone Size Land use restrictions
Zone I Springs: 50 m upstream, 15 m lateral, Fenced off; access only for personnel of10 m downstream Wells: 25 m upstream, water works and management and control15 m lateral and downstream agency (government purchases property)
Zone II 50 days line; but: maximum of 2 km in Existing settlements and organic agricultureupstream and 50–150 m in downstream permitted; new development only withdirections in karst areas: areas classified permission granted by licensing committee;as highly and very highly vulnerable existing land uses which generate waste(groundwater vulnerability map); and sewage water that may negativelybut: maximum of 2 km in upstream and affect the environment have to apply50–150 m in downstream directions rules of best management practice (BMP),
which will be issued by the Government;construction of wastewater collection andtreatment systems in this zone will begiven priority
Zone III Entire contribution zone All types of land use are permitted if theyare conducted in accordance with therules of best management practice
Groundwater protection and management strategy in Jordan 2389
1. Zone I. Immediate protection of well/spring against direct pollution sized atabout 1 dunum (i.e. 1,000 m2) around each water source (spring, well). Withinthis area no activities will be allowed other than those needed for water abstrac-tion. For public supplies, WAJ will acquire the land and fence it. As for privatesupplies a similar area should be protected.
2. Zone II. Protection against bacteriological pollution. This zone is based on a50-day travel time, or maximum 2 km upstream of a well or spring. Allowedactivities within this zone are distinguished according to the development status:On newly developed land; residential use with sewers or acceptable cesspit,and/or organic farming. While allowed activities on already developed land areresidential uses provided that they get connected to the sewerage system in ad-dition to organic farming. Other activities have to implement Best ManagementPractices Activities in Zone II will be intensively monitored.
3. Zone III. Protection of the entire catchment area. The allowed activities in thiszone are still under discussion. For the acceptance of groundwater protectionareas, it is necessary that the regulations and restrictions for the protection ofgroundwater are similar within and outside the groundwater protection areas.
7 Assessment of Groundwater Pollution Hazard–Vulnerability Assessment
The concept of groundwater vulnerability is derived from the assumption thatthe physical environment may provide some degree of protection of groundwateragainst natural and human impacts, especially with regard to pollutants entering the
Fig. 4 Groundwater vulnerability map of the Russeifa landfill area (El-Naqa et al. 2006)
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subsurface environment (Foster et al. 2002). The term “vulnerability of groundwaterto contamination” was probably first introduced in France in the late 1960s (Palmerand Lewis 1998). The goal of vulnerability assessment is to provide policy makers
Fig. 5 Coliform bacteria distribution map of Jerash area (Hammouri and El-Naqa 2008)
Groundwater protection and management strategy in Jordan 2391
with groundwater regions most susceptible to contamination so that land manage-ment practices can be optimized to protect the groundwater resources.
Numerous methods of assessing groundwater vulnerability have been developedover the past 20 years (Morris et al. 2003). All of them based on selected parameters
Fig. 6 Groundwater vulnerability map of Jerash area (Hammouri and El-Naqa 2008)
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describing climatic, soil and hydrogeological properties that affect the leaching ofcontaminants. These methods are used to create zones of equal hydrogeologicproperties based on scores or qualitative ratings that assigned to each relevanthydrogeologic parameters affecting vulnerability. The most common methods areDRASTIC (Aller et al. 1985), the German Geological Surveys GLA-Method:(Hölting et al. 1995), PI-Method (Goldscheider 2002), COP-Method (Vias et al.2002) or EPIK (Doerflinger and Zwahlen 1998), which was developed in Switzerlandespecially for groundwater vulnerability assessment in carbonate (karst) regions.
El-Naqa et al. (2006) were carried out a preliminary assessment of vulnerability togroundwater contamination in Russeifa area, northeast of Amman city. This areawas chosen because of the presence of the largest solid waste disposal site thataffects the major groundwater basin in Jordan. a Geographical Information System(GIS) was used to create a groundwater vulnerability map using DRASTIC index,which indicated that the area surrounding the Russeifa landfill is highly vulnerableto groundwater contamination as shown in Fig. 4.
Hammouri and El-Naqa (2008) were constructed a groundwater vulnerabilitymapping for Jerash area; north Jordan using EPIK and DRASTIC models. Thesemodels have been implemented using GIS to delineate groundwater protection zonesand to suggest a protection plan to improve groundwater quality of the major springsand wells. Most of the groundwater resources in the study area were polluted andshowed elevated bacteria levels as shown in (Fig. 5).
The groundwater vulnerability map of the Jerash area (Hammouri and El-Naqa2008) is shown in (Fig. 6). The DRASTIC and EPIK vulnerability maps of Jerasharea shows the markedly influence of the hydrogeological and geomorphologicalepikarst features on the contamination vulnerability assessments. The most relevantvulnerability class of EPIK map is high which accounts for 44% of the total area.While, in the DRASTIC vulnerability map, the prevalent vulnerability class ismoderate which accounts for 55% of the total area.
8 Conclusions
The water management problem in Jordan can be characterized by water shortages,environmental issues, and supply distribution concerns. Today, Jordan relies mainlyon groundwater resources to satisfy the demands of the growing population. Themajority of the groundwater resources are being utilized at rates exceeding theirsustainable yields. The important groundwater basins are of particular concern,because they are the most over utilized aquifers. The total abstraction from allgroundwater resources approaches 418 MCM/year.
The over-pumping from the groundwater aquifers in some areas has led to waterlevel declines and changes in flow directions. The abstraction rates from the aquifersapproaching about 150% of their sustainable yield. In addition to natural sources,the groundwater quality can be affected by agricultural, municipal, and industrialactivities in the recharge zone of the aquifer. Potential sources of contaminationinclude recycled irrigation water, wastewater from human activities, and waste by-products from industrial activities.
The groundwater management policy addresses the management of groundwa-ter resources comprising development, protection, and reducing abstraction fromrenewable aquifers to sustainable rates. The depletion of groundwater aquifers was
Groundwater protection and management strategy in Jordan 2393
assigned by the policy as the major problem facing Jordan’s water sector. In order tomitigate the problems related to the decline of groundwater levels and degradation ofwater quality of some aquifers in the country, a new Underground Water Control By-Law (No. 85) was developed in 2002. As a result of these regulations the rate of me-tering reached 97% of all licensed wells and the total groundwater abstraction fromlicensed irrigation wells decreased by 25 MCM from 202 MCM in 2002 to 177 MCMin year 2004. Furthermore, the Ministry of Water and Irrigation is following up onthe implementation of the groundwater bylaw through its groundwater protectionsstudies directorate, and it publishes the outcomes of its work in its annual reports.
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