Ammon News - by Hana Namrouqa/ Jordan Times

AMMAN — The Ministry of Water and Irrigation is studying and evaluating the country’s surface and groundwater resources to prevent violations and detect pollution, a government official said on Tuesday.

The 1.7-million-euro study, to be implemented by a German consultation company, will evaluate the monitoring of water resources to end violations and provide data on the current situation of these resources, the ministry’s spokesperson, Omar Salameh, said.

The study also entails supervising the preparation of tender documents for the automation project of the water sector’s monitoring network, which seeks to provide accurate and up-to-date information on the country’s water resources, Salameh noted.

In 2010, the ministry launched a project to monitor water resources using remote sensing systems because of the distance between water monitoring stations across the country, in addition to the fact that some of them are located in deep valleys and remote areas.

The project also included establishing stations for wells in Azraq, Lajoun and Disi to monitor the “behaviour of the country’s aquifers” and the quantity of water pumped from them.

The ministry said that up-to-date information on the water situation in the country’s surface and ground aquifers is important for decision makers when formulating the annual water budget and balancing quantities with demand.