BGR Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe

Go to:

TC Jordan: Groundwater Resources Management

Report of the project:

Background:
Since the 1960s, Jordan’s population has almost decupled from less than one million to nearly ten million today, which results in a huge pressure on Jordan's water resources. Over the same period, water usage has largely increased due to economic growth as well as for agricultural irrigation. Today, Jordan is covering its water demand by up to 70 % from groundwater, which is largely fossil or has very little recharge. Additionally, groundwater quality has decreased over the past decades due to overuse, unsustainable use of fertilizers in agriculture as well as improper storage and treatment of waste and wastewater.

Mountain landscape in JordanMountain landscape in Jordan Source: BGR

The aim of the project "Groundwater Resources Management in Jordan" is to strengthen the national authorities, especially the Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI), in the assessment and management of the available groundwater resources of Jordan. This includes enabling the MWI to assess the economic viability of groundwater extraction under different usage scenarios, in order to develop different options for long-term water supply in the kingdom.

In the light of the project activities, the BGR project team works closely with the MWI, the Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ) and the Jordanian water companies.

The following activities are to be addressed in the project:

  • Domestic well management
  • Economic viability of groundwater extraction
  • Monitoring of groundwater quality
  • Support for the Ministry's Public Relations Department

Hydrogeological map of JordanHydrogeological map of Jordan

Domestic well management:
The component strives to increase the efficiency in water pumping through improved well management and preventative well maintenance. This includes strengthening the institutional structures, which allows the water companies to protect the water resources and to supervise drinking water wells. The extraction of water is currently still very energy- and cost-intensive. In particular, BGR supports the Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ) and the Ministry's Utility Performance Management Unit (UPMU) in their regulation of water companies. In addition, the cooperation and transfer of knowledge between the water companies in the areas of well operation and maintenance are to be improved.

Economic viability of groundwater extraction:
The aim of this component is to enable the MWI to economically assess various options for water extraction in the future. The MWI with support of BGR captures data in order to introduce the economic component as an important aspect in water production planning.

After transferring the determined data into the Water Evaluation and Planning System (WEAP), which is already established as a planning tool in the Jordanian Ministry of Water and Irrigation, the MWI can use the data to examine alternatives for future water supply, such as seawater desalination or desalination of brackish groundwater.

Monitoring of groundwater quality:
The MWI and the WAJ are to ensure the systematic nationwide monitoring of the quality of Jordanian groundwater resources in the long term. To this end, their laboratories are to introduce and plan the monitoring of groundwater quality by institutionalising the entire process chain of sampling, transport, analysis, evaluation and interpretation. The laboratory staff should evaluate the hydrogeochemical data collected and publish the results regularly. A particular focus of this field of action is on practical case studies at sites with specific hydrogeochemical issues.

Abu Mahjoub groundwater comicAbu Mahjoub groundwater comic

Support for the Ministry’s Public Relations Department:
The objective of this project activity is to support the MWI in improving the knowledge of policy-makers, main water users and the public about the groundwater situation in Jordan. Although the scarcity of water in the Kingdom is very well known, awareness about the groundwater resources in particular is not very widespread. For internal and inter-agency cooperation, the provision of scientific data on groundwater is a basic requirement for better policy coherence. Taking into account the great challenges of the Jordanian water sector, such as social inequalities in water supply and illegal water withdrawals, MWI’s capacities to formulate evidence-based key messages and to carry out targeted public relations campaigns, need to be strategically aligned and optimised. The establishment of an advisory board consisting of representatives from ministries, parliament, the media, the private sector and universities, intends to increase both the demand for and provision of reliable groundwater information

Partners:

Results of former project phases:

Literature:

Technical reports

  • AL ATRASH, M. & NIEUWENHOVEN, L. (2022): Drilling and Well Completion Cost Analysis of Groundwater Wells in Jordan. Project "Groundwater Resources Management in Jordan": 15 pp.
  • ALHYARI, M., ROOIJEN, D.V. & ALOBEIAAT, A. (2022): Well ID naming in Jordan – Current Procedures, Challenges and Recommendations for Improvement. Project "Groundwater Resources Management in Jordan": 13 pp.
  • KALWA, F. (2024): Selenium Increase in the Heedan Wells after 2022 – An Assessment of Se-mobilization in the Context of MAR. Project "Groundwater Resources Management in Jordan": 50 pp.
  • LINDENMAIER, F. (2024): Management of Water Wells – Conceptual Approach for a more Efficient Operation, Maintenance, and Monitoring of Domestic Water Wells in Jordan. Project "Groundwater Resources Management in Jordan": 21 pp.
  • NIEUWENHOVEN, L. (2024): Cost-Benefit Analysis Conventional vs. Desalinated Groundwater Wellfields. Project "Groundwater Resources Management in Jordan": 35 pp.
  • NIEUWENHOVEN, L. (2024): Groundwater Production Cost Data Analysis – Process Report on Groundwater Production Cost Data Analysis for Entry into the National WEAP Model of Jordan. Project "Groundwater Resources Management in Jordan": 28 pp.
  • NIEUWENHOVEN, L. (2024): Wellfield Operation & Maintenance Cost Analysis. Project "Groundwater Resources Management in Jordan": 35 pp.
  • NIEUWENHOVEN, L. (2023): Wellfield Capital Cost Analysis. Project "Groundwater Resources Management in Jordan": 26 pp.
  • SEIBERT, S., KALWA, F., AL HYARI, M., BAHLS, R. & WAGNER, F. (2024): Nationwide Groundwater Quality Baseline 2020-23. Project "Groundwater Resources Management in Jordan": 116 pp.
  • STIASNY, J., AL-KURDI, O., ALHYARI, A., DAHABIYEH, M. & GHAZAL, R. (2024): Groundwater Resources Assessment of the A7/B2 Aquifer in Northern Jordan for 2022. Project "Groundwater Resources Management in Jordan": 58 pp.
  • STIASNY, J., VAN ROOIJEN, D., ALHYARI, A. & SALEH, A. (2023): Assessment of Domestic Water Wells in Mafraq Governorate – Final Report. Project "Groundwater Resources Management in Jordan": 53 pp.
  • STIASNY, J., VAN ROOIJEN, D., SALEH, A. & ALHYARI, A. (2023): Assessment of Domestic Water Wells in Zarqa Governorate – Final Report. Project "Groundwater Resources Management in Jordan": 44 pp.
  • VAN ROOIJEN, D., ODATELLA, A., STIASNY, J. & DAHABIYEH, M. (2024): Standard Operating Procedures for Monitoring of Domestic Wells. Project "Groundwater Resources Management in Jordan" 82 pp.
  • VAN ROOIJEN, D., STIASNY, J., ALHYARI, A. & SALEH, A. (2023): Assessment of Domestic Water Wells in Aqaba Governorate – Final Report. Project "Groundwater Resources Management in Jordan": 47 pp.
  • VAN ROOIJEN, D., STIASNY, J., ALHYARI, A. & SALEH, A. (2023): Assessment of Domestic Water Wells in Jerash and Ajloun Governorates. Project "Groundwater Resources Management in Jordan": 43 pp.
  • VAN ROOIJEN, D., STIASNY, J., ALHYARI, A. & SALEH, A. (2023): Assessment of Domestic Water Wells in Madaba Governorate – Final Report. Project "Groundwater Resources Management in Jordan": 41 pp.
  • VAN ROOIJEN, D., STIASNY, J. & ALHYARI, A. (2022): Assessment of Domestic Water Wells in Amman Governorate – Final Report. Project "Groundwater Resources Management in Jordan": 43 pp.

Presentations

  • KALWA, F., AL HYARI, M., GHARAIBEH, M., SEIBERT, S. & BAHLS, R. (2024): Hydrochemistry of Groundwater in Jordan: A Nation-wide Assessment. Unsere wichtigste Georessource Grundwasser: Analysieren, Prognostizieren, Gestalten: 29 Tagung der Fachsektion Hydrogeologie in der DGGV, 20-23 March 2024, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH), Aachen, Germany.
  • STIASNY, J. (2024): Grundwasserübernutzung in Jordanien. Unsere wichtigste Georessource Grundwasser: Analysieren, Prognostizieren, Gestalten: 29 Tagung der Fachsektion Hydrogeologie in der DGGV, 20-23 March 2024, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH), Aachen, Germany.
  • WAGNER, F., AL HYARI, M., KALWA, F. & KRÄMER, D. (2024): Occurrence and Origin of High Dissolved Se in a Depleted Limestone Aquifer in Central Jordan. Unsere wichtigste Georessource Grundwasser: Analysieren, Prognostizieren, Gestalten: 29 Tagung der Fachsektion Hydrogeologie in der DGGV, 20-23 March 2024, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH), Aachen, Germany.

Maps (we recommend to download the files first and then to open them, as not every browser displays the maps adequately)

Movies

Contact 1:

    
Dr. Falk Lindenmaier
Phone: +49-(0)511-643-2859

Contact 2:

    
Dipl.-Hydrogeol. Rebecca Bahls
Phone: +49-(0)511-643-2115

to the top

This Page: