Water from a desert well

Jordan is to construct a $1 billion pipeline to transport drinking water from the Disi valley in southern Jordan to thirsty Amman in the north. Most experts welcome the project, yet wonder what will happen to agriculture in Disi, which has depleted its aquifer by almost one third. And, even if agriculture is halted, will there be enough water to make the costly pipeline worthwhile? First initiated in the late 1990s, the Disi Water Conveyance Project (DWCP) aims to supply Amman with 110 million cubic meters (MCM) of water annually. The project was long regarded as too costly, yet the Jordanian government in 2007 contracted Turkish construction firm GAMA to implement it. Construction will commence in early July 2009 and is due to be completed by 2013. “The project costs close to $1 billion,” said DWCP manager Othman al-Kurdi at the Ministry of Water and Irrigation in Amman. “It includes