Water scarcity: A fundamental crisis for Jordan

Alarm has been raised concerning the growing demands, yet limited supplies, for potable water, as well as the increasing rate of energy consumption for pumping water from aquifers. Over-abstraction from rivers and beneath the ground is causing environmental damage. Greater thrift is needed in the use of water together with the harnessing of non-conventional water sources to satisfy the deficit in national water supplies. The following should be considered:- waste-water treatment and reuse; brackish-water desalination by the use, as the energy source, of either locally-available oil shale or waste heat from electric-power stations; systematic rainwater collection where feasible; and employing increased water-storage capacity to help satisfy needs which occur much later than supplies.