Jordan: Water Scarcity: Difference between revisions

Jordan has three large rivers, the Jordan, the Zarqa and the Yarmuk, but all have become highly undependable. The River Jordan is the main water source for both Jordan and Israel, but as it is saline (salty), it is not suitable for drinking or irrigation without undergoing filtration first. It is also small in comparison to other major rivers – the natural discharge of the Jordan river basin of approximately 1,500 million m3 is 65 times less than the Nile’s and 400 times less than the Mississippi’s.<ref name="Black" /> There is also huge variability in discharge year on year from the River Jordan, with reductions of up to 40% in drought periods. It has also been reduced to “nothing more than a creek” <ref name="Hadadin" /> as a result of upstream diversions and over-pumping by Syria and Israel.<ref name="Mohsen" /> The River Zarqa meanwhile receives large amounts of municipal, industrial and agricultural effluent, making it close to unusable for domestic and irrigation purposes during the dry season, while the River Yarmuk, while less stressed, is also a receptacle for municipal wastewater. <ref name="Hadadin" /> [[File:Jordan River, Jordan.jpg|thumb||left|Jordan River, Jordan]]