BergerWorld: 4th Quarter 2004

Because of Jordan's arid climate the nation faces a growing water crisis. Current annual water demand exceeds 1 billion cubic meters, yet the nation has only 750 million cubic meters of renewable water resources, a growing deficit restricting economic growth and raising conflicts over water allocation. Although Jordan is considering several long-term solutions, including importing water from Turkey or constructing canals and desalinization facilities, government officials are also examining short-term ways to alleviate the water shortage. As part of this effort, USAID and other donors sponsored a massive $70 million initiative to restructure and rehabilitate Amman's aging water system.

The greater Amman area is home to more than two million people and accounts for much of the nation's water use, however the existing water system can not keep up with demand and much of the water entering the system is lost. In 1999, Berger, in association with Hazen and Sawyer and SIGMA Consulting Engineers, was selected as part of a $65 million project to design and supervise the upgrade of the water system. Under the first phase, the Team reviewed existing water use data, evaluated Amman's water distribution network and designed upgrades for the 410-kilometer distribution network, including 14 reservoirs and seven pumping stations.

Currently, the Team is restructuring and rehabilitating water distribution systems in the western and southwestern sections of Amman. Experienced Team members are working with officials from the Water Authority of Jordan to improve system management, institute new water conservation programs and expand public outreach. To ensure that the new water system makes the best use of Jordan's scarce rainfall, the Team is supervising the construction of 15 additional reservoirs capable of storing between 1,000 and 25,000 cubic meters of water. The consultants are also supervising the construction of two primary pump stations and six district booster pump stations. Because many of the city's existing water mains are in poor repair, the Team rehabilitated the existing distribution systems, installed 75 kilometers of new primary water mains and 360 kilometers of secondary mains to reduce leakage and installed improved pumping and control equipment at eight pump stations. By combining the improvement with increased public awareness of water needs, Amman has significantly reduced water loss.