New system seeks to limit random dumping of wastewater (Jordan)
Jordan Times
By Hana Namroqa
AMMAN — A new “manifest” system designed to limit random dumping of wastewater
into the Zarqa River, will help address part of the area’s environmental
problems, Minister of Environment Khalid Irani said this week.
“By registering the source of the wastewater and where it is dumped, the
Environment Ministry will have better control over sewage tankers and
consequently limit the haphazard clearance of waste into the river and the
surrounding area,” the minister said during an inspection tour of the river on
Wednesday.
The follow-up tour was organised to check on the river’s main sources of
pollution and take necessary measures accordingly, Environment Ministry
Spokesperson Isa Shboul told The Jordan Times.
Earlier this month, the ministry prepared an integrated emergency plan to
address the pollution problem, which identified the river's main sources of
contamination as wastewater leakage, the Ain Ghazal sewage tanker facility,
nearby factories, car wash stations, flooding manholes and sewer systems, and
the Greater Amman Municipality slaughterhouse.
The plan includes conducting maintenance work on drainage systems in Zarqa and
Amman to prevent rainwater from entering the sewage system, establishing a 21km
sewage pipeline from the west Zarqa pumping station to the Khirbet Al Samra
station between Zarqa and Mafraq governorates, establishing a new
slaughterhouse and studying the relocation of the stone quarries to a new
industrial site.
“The long-term plan will continue for up to 12 years. Solving the river’s
environmental problems requires time, as the roots of the problem go back
decades,” Irani said.
During the tour, the minister checked on eight sources of pollution along the
river. A scrap yard was closed down permanently, a quarry and a cattle farm
will be relocated to another site, while a car wash facility was given two
months to rectify the violations.
Mohammad Shishani, a resident of the Sukhneh area in Zarqa, complained about the
stench from the river and the garbage strewn along its banks.
“Authorities are blaming area residents for polluting the river by connecting
their sewage system to the river, but everyday we see sewage tankers
discharging waste into the water,” Shishani told The Jordan Times.
According to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, 10 per cent of wastewater in
the river is a direct result of illegal connections.
The ministry said it dealt with 167 violations, where citizens connected their
sewage networks to the rainwater drainage system linked to the river.
The emergency plan also seeks to protect the unpolluted parts of the river,
Irani said.
Although some sections of the river are not contaminated, the water is not
potable and can only be used for agricultural purposes, Water Authority
Director in Zarqa Jabr Hmoud told The Jordan Times.