CAPITAL INVESTMENT WATER SUPPLY GREATER AMMAN
In the past the water supply facilities of Greater Amman could not cope with the rapid growth of the town. Aside of normal migration from rural areas to the capital of Jordan, and combined with an extraordinary population growth of some 3.9 % p.a., a periodically high influx of refugees increased the stress on the water supply facilities. Extensions of the supply area were successfully implemented, in spite of a lack of appropriate planning. Initial clear hydraulic structures were broken up for the sake of quick response to growing demand for services. Consequently operations of the system got more and more complicated and subject to empirical operations approaches with system limitations governing the day-to-day activities. All these problems were further aggravated by resource shortages, which led latterly to intermittent supply schemes even during the winter season.
Furthermore the widespread usage in the past of galvanized iron pipe material and insufficient standard of installation quality resulted in high instances of pipe bursts and heavy corrosion, with the consequent effect of severe water losses that added to the resource shortages.
During the period August 1995 till April 1997 a comprehensive study, sponsored under a grant from KfW, for Greater Amman’s water supply system was prepared. This study eventually provided the basis for a future- oriented capital investment programme required to improve the water supply situation in Greater Amman. Based on the existing facilities, the necessary physical measures were outlined to cope with operational and water quality requirements, system transparency, pressure and water loss management and expected population development until the target year 2025.

In recognition of size, dimension and importance of the water supply situation in Jordan and in particular that of Greater Amman, KfW sponsored an international conference in Frankfurt in November 1996. It was then that the scale of the proposed improvements were brought to the attention of a broad number of attendees/donor organizations. First, projections of both the physical and organizational needs were outlined and contributed to an understanding of what further actions were needed from within the donor community.
The physical area of implementation measures under the CI Programme covers the Municipality of Greater Amman plus a number of villages to the southwest and the industrial area of Sahab in the southeast (approximately 650 km²). Within these boundaries some 1.6 Mill. inhabitants (status 1995) are served with drinking water by approximately 270,000 house connections (status 2005: more than 2 Mill. inhabitants and 360,000 HCs).
The above mentioned re-structuring of the water supply system is carried out while operation of the supply system is on-going and utilizes as much as possible existing facilities.
The most urgent measures were defined in the HA-Study with re-structuring of the distribution system, containing the establishment of 44 individual distribution / pressure zones, combined with the related primary pipe systems, necessary for the defined demand situation. These measures represent the so-called Phase I of works. In a second phase rehabilitation measures (such as leak repairs, exchange of corroded pipes and malfunctioning water meters etc.) will be required to further reduce non-revenue water quantities.
The entire works are implemented under 15 individual construction contracts, designed and supervised by 5 different consultants according to financing packages.
Implementation activities started in the year 2000 with an overall investment volume of some USD 270 Mill. The works comprise:
• 1,350 km of pipe installation DN 80 – 1400
• 32 reservoirs with storage volumes of 500 to 25,000 m³
• 10 water towers
• 11 major pumping stations plus 10 water tower and 3 local boosters
• replacement of 66,000 house connections