Jordan- Ministry allocates JD500,000 to rehabilitate King Abdullah Canal 

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) Minister of Water and Irrigation Raed Abu Saud on Tuesday briefed the Cabinet on procedures taken by the ministry to implement recommendations regarding the King Abdullah Canal.

In March this year, the canal was contaminated with pollutants originating from the Israeli side of the Yarmouk River and the Lower House Permanent Bureau formed an ad hoc committee to investigate the incident, which held Israel accountable for the pollution, in a report issued earlier this year.

Abu Saud told the Cabinet yesterday that the ministry has allocated around JD500,000 for the rehabilitation of the canal, noting that work is under way to erect a fence alongside the waterway, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

He added that maintenance work will be carried out on the canal each year before the onset of winter.

The water minister noted that a higher committee was formed to monitor the quality of water in the canal, with representatives from scientific research institutes and the ministries of health and environment.

Prime Minister Nader Dahabi had tasked the Ministry of Water and Irrigation with drawing up an action plan to implement the House fact-finding committee's recommendations, which include protecting the canal and the surrounding area and conducting tests to assess the quality of water.

The House committee also found Water Ministry employees responsible for not handling the problem in a timely manner.

In its report, the committee noted that the contaminated water did not reach the Zai Water Treatment Plant, adding that Jordan lost 750,000 cubic metres of water as it closed a tunnel channelling water from the river to the canal as a result of the pollution.

On March 12, the ministry said it stopped pumping water from the canal after it detected oil waste and sewage in the Yarmouk River, which is a shared water resource for both Jordan and Israel and is one of the main tributaries of the Jordan River.