Jordan is planning to implement projects on a large scale to use treated sewage effluent (TSE) in order to meet water demand.

Speaking at MEED’s Mena Water conference in Abu Dhabi on 8 June, Iyad al-Qassir, institutional support adviser, Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ), said that it was planning to developer major TSE projects to provide water for agriculture, which currently accounts for two thirds of domestic water.

Most of Jordan’s water currently comes from groundwater reserves which are steadily depleting, the rate of which is increasing with the influx of Syrian refugees over the past three years.

Al-Qassir said that Jordan was still moving forward with the long-planned Red Sea-Dead Sea conveyance link scheme, which is envisaged to provide sea water for desalination.

“The project is not just important for Jordan, but for the whole region,” said Al-Qassir. “We are looking for as much support and partners as we can to move forward with the projects.