Water Demand Management Project Changed Jordanians’ Approach to Water

April 03, 2012

DAI celebrated the successes of its five-year water conservation program, which ended last week in Jordan, with a ceremony attended by nearly 200 people.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded work brought about a cultural shift in thinking about water usage, according to Jordanian Minister of Water and Irrigation Mousa Jamani. People are increasingly seeking methods to cut down water use, he told The Jordan Times: “Although people are more aware now about Jordan’s acute water shortage, efforts to increase water efficiency in the various sectors and reduce water loss must continue in order to narrow the gap between the rising demand and [finite] supply.”

Among other accomplishments, the award-winning project, in partnership with the government of Jordan:

• Developed a National Water Demand Management Policy that is designed to achieve savings in maximum utilization and minimum waste of water—and promote effective water use social and economic development and environmental protection.
• Developed five-year efficiency plans for the country’s three water utilities and implemented water use efficiency programs for the residential sectors in the service areas of the utilities.
• Developed technical standards—covering lavatory and kitchen flow regulators, bidets, and toilets, for example—for more efficient fixtures and equipment.
• Established a laboratory at the Royal Scientific Society for testing residential plumbing fixtures and appliances.
• Modified the nation’s Water Supply and Sanitation Plumbing Code.
• Retrofitted faucets and showerheads for approximately 3,450 houses in Amman, 700 in the northern governorates, and 300 in Aqaba.
• Rehabilitated six municipal parks based on waterwise landscape techniques and integrated those techniques into the curriculums at German Jordan University, Jordan University, and Jordan University for Science and Technology.

Among the guests who attended the closedown ceremony of the Instituting Water Demand Management (IDARA) Project were: His Excellency (HE) Mousa Jamaani, Minister of Water and Irrigation; HE Yehia Al Kasbi, Minister of Public Works and Housing and Director of the National Building Council for Jordan; HE Maher Al Waked, Minister of Labor; HE Yassin Khaytt, Minister of Environment; HE Maysoon Zoubi, Secretary General, Ministry of Water and Irrigation; HE Fayez Bataineh, Secretary General, Water Authority of Jordan; HE Yasera Ghosheh, Director of King Abdullaha II Award for Excellence; HE Dr. Haider Al Zaben, Director of Jordan Standards for Metrology Organizations; Prof Odeh Al Jayyousi, Vice President for Science and Research, Royal Scientific Society; and Beth Paige, USAID Mission Director for Jordan.

IDARA was presented in April 2010 with the Global Water Intelligence Distinction Award during “Global Water Summit 2010: Transforming the World of Water.” Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan presented the award.

Learn more about this innovative project.