Radwan A. Al-Weshah

Optimal Use of Irrigation Water in the Jordan Valley: A Case Study

Water shortage is a serious problem in most countries in theMiddle East. Irrigation water consumes about three-fourths of theavailable fresh water resources in Jordam and many othercountries in the region. This article presents a practical approachto manage and optimize the irrigation water use in the region.The ultimate objective is to minimize the outside water and tomanage the irrigation water use under geographic,socio-economic, and demographic constraints. This approach usesthe added value (net revenue) of one cubic meter of waterconcept in evaluating different irrigation water use management.This concept has been demonstrated, based on a case study in theJordan Valley.This case study shows that water scarcity can be incorporated inirrigation water management by proper choice of crops andfarming patters. The objective function is to maximize the netrevenue from the agricultural production process subjected tolimitation on water and other production and marketing factors.Results of analysis showed that a net water saving of about9%occurred if the objective function is to minimize water useunder the same level of profitability. This example shall beuseful for water and agricultural planners. Sometimes virtualwater is widely exported in form of crops that consumes largeamounts of water without full economic consideration to theadded value of water. In some cases, food imports may be afeasible option in water-poor countries instead of water import.

The water balance of the Dead Sea: an integrated approach

The Dead Sea is the lowest spot on Earth. It is a closed saline lake located in the middle of the Jordan Rift Valley between Lake Tiberias and the Red Sea. Its major tributaries are the Jordan River itself and the Dead Sea side wadis. The Dead Sea has a unique ecosystem and its water has curative, industrial and recreational significance. The level of the Dead Sea has been continuously falling since the early 1930s at an average rate of 0·7 m per year. The water level, as of February 1998, is about 410·9 m below mean sea level. In this paper, a water balance model is developed for the Dead Sea by considering different hydrological components of this water balance, including precipitation, runoff, evaporation and groundwater flow. This model is calibrated based on historical levels of the Dead Sea. Different scenarios are investigated, including the proposed Dead Sea–Red Sea Canal. This project is supposed to halt the shrinking of the Dead Sea and restore it to pre-1950 levels in the next century. Copyright

The role of UNESCO in sustainable water resources management in the Arab World

Abstract Most of the Arab countries are located in arid and semi-arid zones known for their scanty annual rainfall, very high rates of evaporation and consequently extremely insufficient renewable water resources. Sustainable management of water resources is a must as water scarcity is becoming more and more a development constraint impeding the economic growth of many countries in the region. The International Hydrological Programme of the UNESCO (IHP) is a vehicle through which member states can upgrade their knowledge of the water cycle and thereby increase their capacity to better manage and develop their water resources. It aims at the improvement of the scientific and technological basis for the development of methods for the rational management of water resources. In UNESCO, current concentration areas of IHP in the Arab Region are Groundwater Protection and Rainfall Water Management, with special emphasis on Wadi Hydrology. Concentration areas are selected during the regional meeting of Arab IHP National Committees, held each biennium. Activities in the Arab Region include both research and training. The sixth phase of IHP strives to minimize the risks to vulnerable water resources systems, taking fully into account social challenges and interactions and developing appropriate approaches for sound water management. Assessing the global time and space distribution of freshwater availability and use, developing approaches to reduce the vulnerability of hydrosystems and their supporting ecosystems and improving water resources management for vulnerable areas are among the main objectives. Capacity-building and water education and training, as well as institutional development (with emphasis in the use of information and communication technologies for water resources research and training) are reinforced, and the social and ethical views of water users are incorporated into the development of conflict prevention and resolution. Many extra budgetary projects are initiated in UNESCO Cairo Office: the UNESCO/Flanders Funds-In-Trust Project on Capacity Building and Training on Environmental Planning and Management in Palestine. A FRIEND (Flow Regimes from International Experimental and Network Data Sets) Project for the river Nile is recently launched. FRIEND is one of IHPs success stories which is considered as a cross-cutting theme in IHP-VI. The FRIEND/Nile project has selected various research projects, being carried out by research groups with members of all riparian Nile countries. The urgent need for comprehensive assessment of the worlds freshwater has been emphasized by the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. It urged a collective initiative to this effect. This led to the launch of the UN system-wide World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) led by UNESCO, which aims to improve the assessments of the state of world water resources and their response to the pressure posed by escalating human demands, as well as by factors related to global change. Therefore, UNESCO Cairo Office is implementing efficiently the themes of the IHP relevant to the Arab Region. It is taking the lead in groundwater protection and dry land hydrology through two concentration areas of groundwater protection and wadi hydrology, respectively. The strategy is to consolidate efforts between various national, regional and international agencies in these areas to address these themes. Human resources development and capacity building has been a prime objective of UNESO Cairo Office activities. UNESCO Cairo Office is actively following the UNESCO approach of result based management in all its activities.

Jordan's water resources : technical perspective

ABSTRACT Jordan is suffereing from both water scarcity and maldistribution. The water shortage in Jordan has been exacerbated by the complexity of the hydropolitics in the region, the high rate of population growth, and the forced immigration of hundreds of thousands of Jordanian and Palestinian returnees from the Arabian Gulf countries. Located in a semiarid climatic region, about 91.4 per cent of the country receives an average annual rainfall less than 200 mm. Jordans total rainfall volume is estimated to be about 7200 MCM (million cubic meters) of precipitation. More than 85 per cent of the rainfall goes for evaporation. The conventional water supply in Jordan has been estimated to be 880 MCM per year This includes the safe yield of all available groundwater and surface water resources. Water demand was about 767 MCM for 1991, and is expected to grow to 1,000 MCM by 1995. Irrigation water forms 73 per cent of the total water demand, whereas municipal and industrial demands form 22 and 5 per cent, res...

Impact of the As Samra wastewater treatment plant upgrade on the water quality (COD, electrical conductivity, TP, TN) of the Zarqa River

The impact of the As Samra wastewater treatment plant upgrade on the quality of the Zarqa River (ZR) water was investigated. Time series data that extend from October 2005 until December 2009 obtained by a state-of-the-art telemetric monitoring system were analyzed at two monitoring stations located 4 to 5 km downstream of the As Samra effluent confluence with the Zarqa River and about 25 km further downstream. Time series data that represent the ZR water quality before and after the As Samra upgrade were analyzed for chemical oxygen demand (COD), electrical conductivity (EC), total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN). The means of the monitored parameters, before and after the As Samra upgrade, showed that the reductions in the COD, TP and TN were statistically significant, while no reduction in the EC was observed. Comparing the selected parameters with the Jordanian standards for reclaimed wastewater reuse in irrigation and with the Ayers & Westcot guidelines for interpretation of water quality for irrigation showed that the ZR water has improved towards meeting the required standards and guidelines for treated wastewater reuse in irrigation.

Effect of bromide and other factors on brominated trihalomethanes formation in treated water supply in Jordan

AbstractChlorine disinfection of drinking water containing natural organic matter leads to the formation of brominated trihalomethanes (THMs) in the presence of bromide ions. In the present study, the results of an experimental investigation into the factors forming THMs in the presence of bromide ions are presented. The experiments were conducted using samples collected from Zai water treatment plant in Jordan under different operating conditions such as reaction time, temperature, pH, TOC, and the ratio between bromide ions and initial chlorine dose. The experimental results showed that the formation of all brominated THMs, mainly CHBr3), increased with increasing of any of these parameter values and decreased chloroform formation. CHCl2Br and CHClBr2 increased with increasing the experimental parameters and thereafter remained constant or slightly decreased. Moreover, n(Br) values which represents bromine incorporation into THMs are almost in the range from 2.5 to 2.7. However, the values of n(Br) incr...

Rainwater harvesting in Jordan: a case of Royal Pavilion at Amman Airport

Volumes of rainwater harvested on-site are estimated by short-term storage capacity by two methods: graphical method and analytical method. The first method considers the difference between demand and supply over a specified period of time. The second uses random events to determine analytically, the storage capacity required to guarantee the draft. The comparison between the two methods indicates that there are minor differences. Based on the volume of water harvested after applying these methods, run-off coefficient for impervious surface in arid and semi-arid area was estimated. New analytical approach for long-term storage capacity is utilized to estimate the detention pond capacity off-site for the local natural streams. To apply this method, it is necessary to estimate the overall mean storage capacity in which the soil conservation service method is utilized. This technique is confirmed with graphical method.

Water Resources Management and Modeling in Iraq, The Middle East and the Nile Basin. Towards Knowledge Transfer and Capacity Building

Mathematical modeling has been assisting water resources engineers for many years. Throughout the last few decades, it has proven to be an indispensable tool to manage water resources in a sustainable context. The objective of this paper is to review some recent modeling and research efforts as knowledge transfer and capacity building in Iraq, Nile Basin countries and the Middle East. The United Nations Education, Science, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in collaboration with the Environ-mental Modeling Research Laboratory (EMRL) of Brigham Young University (BYU) is conducting a knowledge transfer and capacity building for water resources engineers in the Middle East, Iraq and the Nile basin countries. These efforts include training on integrated water resources management and the use of Watershed Modeling System (WMS), developed at EMRL. Ongoing research collaborations include providing scientific and technical guidance to water resources professionals in the aforementioned countries/regions through training workshops, joint research papers and software technical assistance.