The Ministry of Water and Irrigation further outlined in 2008 its focus on improving water supply to the domestic and industrial sectors and on reducing demand in the agricultural sector. While in 2013 agriculture still used about 53% of the country’s total water budget,

Leakage, water loss and water theft form a huge problem in Jordan. An estimated 40% to 80% of the water supply is lost in the network, depending on the location.

After the peace treaty in 1994, the implementation of a canal linking the Red Sea and the Dead Sea became the focal point of Israeli-Jordanian cooperation. In February 2015, Jordan and Israel signed an agreement to implement the first phase of the project at a cost of $900 million over a period of three years.

All water resources in Palestine are shared, mainly with Israel. Shared water usually needs to be governed through agreements on allocation and use between the different parties.

Per capita water availability in Palestine will keep decreasing if no new water resources are developed. Since its creation in 1995, the PWA has dealt with water supplies by negotiating for a fair share of water resources with Israel. Unfortunately, the results of these efforts have not lead to any further increase in the Palestinian share from the Mountain Aquifer and the Jordan River in the West Bank or the Coastal Aquifer in Gaza. In fact, the situation has worsened over the years.

In the Gaza Strip, where there is a greater water supply in theory, the majority of wells (80%) only work partially and the rest not at all. In 2006, almost half of Gazan households bought their water, either bottled or from tanker trucks, because tap water was too salty to drink. Daily consumption is approximately 90 litres per person (2013/2014). Moreover, the quality of water delivered by the municipality exceeds maximum standards for contaminants and is largely unfit for human consumption …

The dramatic deterioration of water quality in Gaza poses a grave public health threat and forms a major challenge for the Palestinian water sector. Gaza’s groundwater has become saline following years of over-exploitation of the Coastal Aquifer. Inflow of saline water is both a result of seawater intrusion and of lateral inflow from Israel …

Water quality in the West Bank is generally considered acceptable. There are no serious indications of pollution in the deep aquifers. However, there is some contamination of water in the shallow aquifers that are part of the Mountain Aquifer.

To understand the complexity of these challenges, it is interesting to look at the Ain Ghazal wastewater and sewage collection and treatment system that was established by the government in 1960s near Amman.

All surface and groundwater resources in Palestine are shared with Israel and/or other states. Surface water sources are scarce, and include the Jordan River and a number of wadis (stream beds or ravines where water only flows seasonally and temporarily, often as flash floods after thunderstorms).