AMMAN — The Ministry of Water and Irrigation on Sunday announced the completion of the Ain Al Basha Water System Project, implemented by the Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ) in cooperation with the US embassy.

The project represents a major step towards reducing water losses and improving the reliability of water supply in one of the most densely populated areas of Balqa, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

The ministry said that the project was implemented at a total cost of JD11.2 million, including JD9.5 million funded by the US embassy in Amman and JD1.7 million contributed by WAJ.

Secretary General of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation Jihad Mahamid said that the project was designed to address problems caused by ageing infrastructure and frequent pipe breaks resulting from high operational pressures.

These issues had pushed water loss levels to around 77 per cent, undermining the ability of Miyahuna Company to provide regular and reliable water supplies to residents, Mahamid added.

He praised the support provided by the US mission through the Water Loss Reduction Programme, noting that rehabilitation works were carried out in several areas of Ain Al Basha.

The project included the restructuring and rehabilitation of water networks in selected zones, as well as the installation of 853 ultrasonic smart water metres equipped with an advanced metering infrastructure system to improve accuracy and monitoring.

The works also involved the construction of a new water reservoir with a capacity of 1,000 cubic metres at the highest point in the area, allowing water to be supplied through gravity rather than pumping.

He added that the project focused on restructuring, rehabilitating and isolating priority areas, alongside the introduction of a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system to enhance monitoring, control and operational performance.

Mahamid said that the project is expected to save some 767,000 cubic metres of water annually and directly benefit about 115,000 residents of Ain Al Basha.

The project will also help cut annual operational and energy costs by around JD2.1 million, while reducing response times to faults and pipe-break complaints by 23 per cent, enabling households to rely on a more regular and stable water supply programme, Petra added.

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