Pressure on water supply in various sectors

Jordan suffers from scarcity of available sources of water and relies on rainwater to replenish surface water and groundwater alike. The increasing population in addition to the economic and agricultural growth led to an increasing demand for water .The water supply to various sectors has risen from 801.44 million cubic meters in 1999 to 925.2 million cubic meters in 2006 (Figure 1). The inability to provide non-traditional water sources has increased pressure on traditional sources to meet the rising demand for water.

        The volume of water supply in the domestic (household) sector has risen from 231.5 million cubic meters in 1999 to 290.6 million cubic meters in 2006,( i.e., an increase of 25.53%), which is the highest increase compared to other sectors (Figure 2). The reason is attributed to the increasing population, which formed pressure on water resources in Jordan. In contrast, the volume of water supply in the industrial sector has risen from 37.6 million cubic meters in 1999 to 38.5 million cubic meters

in 2006, (i.e., an increase of about 2.42%). it is a slight increase when compared to the increase in the volume of water supply to the domestic (household) sector. In spite of the increasing volume of water supply to the agricultural sector, however, the increase was moderate as compared with the average volume of supply for household purposes, where the volume of water supply has increased from 521.1 million cubic meters in 1999 to 588.3 million cubic meters in 2006, (i.e., an increase of 12.91%), which indicates the importance of water supply for the household sector compared with the industrial and agricultural sectors.

The pressure on all water sources in Jordan is an inevitable consequence to meet the needs of the growing demand for water. The pressure size on sources differs depending on the type of the source. The data indicate that the pressure on the groundwater is very high compared with the pressure on surface water sources such as dams and rivers. Pressure on groundwater sources usually decreases during the rainy seasons where the volume of surface water available for consumption increases, particularly for agricultural purposes.
 

In the dry season, pressure on groundwater sources increases to meet the demands for water. In general, pressure on extracting groundwater in different regions lead to a low quality of water. The high pressure witnessed on the sources of groundwater is due to dependence of many farms and industries on their private wells to provide the required amounts of water for various activities. Figure (3) shows that the pumping percentage of groundwater compared with surface water are increasing in recent years. It has risen from 41.3% in 2002 to 76.2% in 2006.

       The data indicate that the rise in the future water supply is not limited to a particular sector, but covers all sectors, which calls for the formulation of policies and plans to achieve a balance between future needs and various water sources , as well as to sustain and maintain those sources to meet the needs of future generations