As one of the driest countries on earth, the value of a clean supply of sufficient water is evident in Jordan. Yet, poor storage and inadequate treatment of wastewater means highly coveted resources too often go to waste or are applied unsafely.

This project installed three different water collection and storage systems and built capacity among local residents to maintain and operate them. Sites ranged from schools to mosques to rehabilitated natural systems such as ponds and lakes.

In total, more than 5,000 m3 of water are saved annually and communities have become more engaged in the conservation of their natural resources.

Outputs

• Constructed three separate water and storage infrastructure in public buildings and natural systems
• Assessed 196 traditional water harvestings systems ponds and dams, identifying the range of available solutions applied in Jordan’s history
• Rehabilitated two historical water harvesting sites
• Raised public awareness on value of traditional rainwater harvesting through an active national campaign
• Provided a model for replication at schools, places of worship and traditional water harvesting sites

Project detail

Title Traditional water harvesting improves community resilience in climate change adaptation
Implementation period 2011-2013
Implementing agency Land and Humans to Advocate Progress
Location Amman, Jordan
Budget 120,000 USD (EDM: 100,000 / Co-financing: 20,000)

As one of the most water scarce countries of the world, safe re-use of greywater is essential to sustain agricultural production amidst growing demand from households and urban development.

The EDM project constructed 27 greywater treatment units and provided insights to improve the quality and effective application of the treated effluent. This included a monitoring programme on the use of various filtration media in greywater systems, system flow rates, and contaminant loading.

Following training provided to more than 100 community members to operate and maintain the systems and correctly use greywater in agriculture, olive crop and oil production nearly doubled while water bills were cut by up to 35 percent.

Based upon the success in Madaba, a nation-wide Greywater Users Society was established in Jordan, spreading the lessons learned in the project to advocate and support improved water reuse across the country.

Outputs

• Constructed 27 greywater treatment units to process
• More than 400 m3 of greywater treated reused in agriculture each week
• Demonstrated value of greywater in agriculture to reduce water bills by up to 35%
• Trained 125 community members to correctly treat and use greywater
• Increased olive crop and oil production in targeted communities by 94% and 100%
• Tested and applied new research on greywater monitoring systems

Project details

Title Community-based interventions for productive use of grey water in home farming
Implementation period 2013-2014
Implementing agency International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas
Location Madaba, Jordan
Budget 125,000 USD (EDM: 75,000 / Co-financing: 50,000)

The Azraq nature reserve, located in the heart of the East Jordan Desert, was once home to a rich and diverse ecosystem. Despite efforts to redevelop the nature reserve, continued over abstraction of water resources make it challenging to restore the wetland ecosystem.

The EDM project worked to improve water efficiency, reduce losses in water supply systems and lower water demand within the basin. This included the installation of water saving devices and household greywater units, and rehabilitating local water networks to reduce losses and contamination risks in the water supply.

This provided families improved access to water and led to reduced water consumption in households. Local citizens, including youth, were engaged through a series of awareness raising activities and an educational programme tailored for use at the Azraq nature reserve. Forty young ‘Nature Knights’ were trained to continue providing environmental education to their peers.

The project also demonstrated water saving and grey water reuse solutions, which have great potential for further uptake throughout the Arab region.

Outputs

• Improved water use and reuse efficiency to benefit more than 4,000 people and save an estimated 1,700 m3 per year
• Rehabilitated a water network to reduce leakage losses and the risk of contaminants to 12 houses
• Installed greywater systems at 10 locations, including four schools, four households and two public buildings
• Delivered training community members and school students on water conservation
• Developed a tailored educational programme for children on Azraq nature reserve
• Engaged 1,700 people in diverse awareness raising activities
• Trained 40 young ‘Nature Knights’ to educate their peers on environmental protection

Project details

Title: Enhancing resilience of Azraq basin community
Implementation period: 2013-2014
Implementing agency: Royal Society for Conservation of Nature
Location: Azraq basin, Jordan
Budget: 105,938 USD (EDM: 99,938 / Co-financing: 6,000)