Amman (JT) - A four-day stoppage in the supply of water to the Kingdom from Lake Tiberias, which started last Tuesday, is scheduled to end Saturday morning with the resumption of water pumping at the lake, a source at the ministry said on Thursday.
Israeli authorities have informed the Ministry of Water and Irrigation of the stoppage, a source at the Ministry of Water and Irrigation said Thursday, adding that Israel will supply the Kingdom with the 720,000 cubic metres of water due to be allocated during the four-day period over the next few weeks.
The reported reason behind the break in water supply is poor precipitation during the most recent rainy season, which affected Lake Tiberias's water level, according to the ministry.
Currently, the lake's water level is close to the "red line", a point at which pumping must be stopped. The minimum level required for pumping is 213 metres below sea level, according to the source, adding that any further drop in the water level may offset the lake's salinity and endanger fish and plant life.
The ministry source said the stoppage in water supply from Lake Tiberias to the Kingdom is the first since Jordan and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1994.
Jordan, which has a share in the Yarmouk River, receives 55 million cubic metres (mcm) of water annually from the river and Lake Tiberias.
According to the Jordan-Israel peace treaty, in the summer Israel is to transfer to Jordan 20mcm from the Jordan River directly upstream from the river's Deganya gate. The Kingdom is also entitled to an annual quantity of 10mcm of desalinated spring water diverted from the river.
The treaty stipulates that Jordan and Israel should cooperate to supply the Kingdom with an additional quantity of 50mcm of potable water every year.
According to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Jordan is the world's fourth poorest country in terms of water resources, with an annual per capita share of water standing at about 110-150 cubic metres, compared to the international water poverty line of 1,000 cubic metres of water per person annually.
The Kingdom's drinking water deficit for this summer stands at 12.7mcm a figure the ministry hopes to cut down to 5.5mcm through 48 artesian wells that have been put into service this year.
This year's rainfall stood at 4.5 billion cubic metres as of August, 54 per cent of the Kingdom's annual average, according to the ministry.
© Jordan Times 2008
