Waleh Dam runs dry as farmers appeal for gov’t intervention

Waleh Dam runs dry as farmers appeal for gov’t intervention

The Jordan Valley Authority (JVA) was unavailable to comment despite multiple attempts from The Jordan Times. “Approximately 2,000 acres, planted with vegetables and fruit trees, and dozens of farmers and families who live off of these farms are suffering great losses now due to the crisis. The crops are in dire need of irrigation to maintain their growth, especially as the harvest time approaches,” Secretary General of the Jordanian Farmers Union (JFU) Mahmoud Oran told The Jordan Times during a phone interview on Wednesday. All environmental plans must be reviewed to suit the climatic changes happening around the world, not only Jordan, Oran said. “We have repeatedly encouraged and warned the concerned authorities to work out a clearer strategy to deal with environmental issues in Jordan, especially water harvesting, which is important for maintaining food security in the long run,” Oran added. Oran noted that the last dam built for water harvesting was Al Wehda Dam, built in 2007. “The average annual rainfall in Jordan is approximately 10-12 billion cubic metres, but our water harvest rate is only 500 million cubic metres. Meanwhile, the water loss is approximately 9 billion cubic metres, which is too much,” he said. According to