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The Socio-Economic Role
of The King Talal Dam in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Dr Munther J Haddadin This submission
was presented at the WCD Regional Consultation, Cairo, Egypt, 8 - 9 December
1999 1. Introduction The Jordan River Basin straddles
territories in Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Jordan and Palestine. The river
acquires its name after three major tributaries join its course north of Lake
Tiberias, and it flows southwards towards Lake Tiberias. Its natural exit from the Lake was
dammed with gates so that the Lake became a large reservoir. The river picks up water from
tributaries that discharge water into it from the east and from the
west. The largest tributary to
the Jordan is the Yarmouk that drains territories in Syria and Jordan, and
passes by Israeli territories before it discharges into the Jordan. The second largest tributary is the
Zarqa River that drains purely Jordanian territories, and has an average
natural flow of 96 MCM per year.
The capital city of Amman, and several other cities including Zarqa,
Ruseifeh, Jarash and others are located in the catchment of the Zarqa
River. The population in
the catchment is about two million people, and the industrial activities in
the country were started in it since the 1950's before full awareness of the
environmental impacts such industries could impact on water resources. The proposed development of the
Jordan River basin called for the utilization of the upper tributaries before
the river exits from Lake Tiberias, and for the utilization of the lower
tributaries before they join the river.
In effect the course of the Lower Jordan south of Lake Tiberias would
be denied fresh water supplies and would transform into a drain for
agricultural drainage water. The
proposed development was based on the sharing of the waters of the basin by
the riparian parties, and subsequent undertakings of water projects for the
development of the basin. The
proposed plan fell through politically after it was endorsed on the technical
level by the concerned parties.
It was then thought proper to have it implemented in a staged manner. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
obtained financial assistance from the United States to develop the
unregulated flow of the Yarmouk River and the side wadis on the East Bank of
the Jordan. The unregulated flow
was sufficient to develop some 10,500 dunums of arable lands in the Jordan
Valley. The constraint was water
availability in the dry season (April through October) rather than the wet season. Small dams were built on minor side wadis to make water
available in the dry season. By
1967 about 11,400 hectars between the Yarmouk and the Zarqa were brought
under perennial irrigation.
Any expansion in the irrigated area would require impoundment of flood
waters by dams. The regulation
of the Yarmouk was stalled by riparian issues that were exacerbated by
political factors. Israel was a
third riparian in addition to Jordan and Syria, and a state of war prevailed
between Israel and the Arab states.
Another complication was the Syrian plans to develop the Yarmouk basin
unilaterally. Jordan went through a period of
turmoil in the wake of the 1967 war.
The internal situation was finally brought under control in 1971. Economic development had to be
restarted and a special development plan was made drawn up for the Jordan
Valley. Irrigated agriculture
was the backbone for economic and social development. 2. The
King Talal dam Any expansion of irrigated
agriculture in the Jordan Valley depended on making more irrigation water
available. This is a function of
two factors: a)
improvement of
irrigation efficiency b)
making available
more water in the dry season through regulation of flows. The irrigation efficiency can be
enhanced by the improvement of conveyance and distribution efficiency on one
hand, and the introduction of modern irrigation technology for on-farm
irrigation. Networks of pipes
conveying water under pressure replaced surface canals network, and drip
irrigation and micro-sprinkler methods were introduced to the farms. The
increase of water availability was dependent on flood water storage on one
hand and on the degree of Yarmouk water depletion upstream through increased
Syrian abstraction on the other. A minor factor was the depletion of the base
flow of the side wadis inside Jordan through upstream diversions. The factors
influencing the water availability in the Jordan valley are therefore as
follows: a)
conversion of
surface conveyance and distribution methods into pipe networks b)
use of advanced
on-farm irrigation methods c)
storage of flood
water for use in dry months d)
depletion of
Yarmouk flows by Syria e)
depletion of
flows of side wadis The final outcome of expansion in
irrigated agriculture depended on the final combination of the above five
factors, of which the first three have positive impact on the water
availability objective and the last two, the Yarmouk depletion by Syrian
abstractions and the modest depletions in Jordan, had a negative impact. The net result depended on the
cumulative outcome at any time of the simultaneous impact imparted by each of
the above factors. The development plan called for the
expansion of 8300 hectars in irrigated agriculture, and the introduction of
new on farm irrigation methods on 1000 hectars in the existing areas of
irrigation. The streams that
could be impounded were the Zarqa River and Wadi Kafrein. A dam had already been built on the
latter, but the Zarqa flow was not regulated. A dam was planned for the
Zarqa, to be built at a capacity of 56 MCM and could be raised to 86 MCM if
the situation warranted. The King Talal dam was started in
1971, and was completed in 1977 with a storage capacity of 56 MCM of which
only 6 MCM were earmarked to dead storage. The bed load proved to be higher
than anticipated and an extensive program for the Zarqa catchment was adopted
to stabilize the soil and control erosion. Requirements for more water justified the raising of the
KTD sooner than expected, and the complicated raising project was started in
1983 and was completed in 1988. Water availability from the Yarmouk
was adequate in the wet months (November through March) and would allow the
expansion in irrigated agriculture if more water became available in the dry
months. The King Talal dam on the Zarqa served that purpose. Although its total storage allows an
expansion of about 4000 hectars, the conjunctive use of its water with the
Yarmouk wet months flow allows for more. At the outset, the dam allowed the
irrigation of about 6000 hectars, but later after the raising and after
further depletion in the Yarmouk summer flow, the dam water was made to reach
some 17000 hectars. Only
11000 of them were under cultivation, and the rest awaited more water. In effect, the Syrian depletions
strained the supply to the Jordan Valley existing agriculture, and prevented
the cultivation of 6000 hectars when they were ready to be worked. The first pronounced impact of the
KTD was the expansion in irrigated area at the outset. The areas of its command totaled 6000
hectars sufficient to settle about 6000 families whose heads of household
would work in direct agricultural jobs and in supporting services. Before the dam was built, there were
8 villages poorly equipped with the requirements of infrastructure needed for
social development. There was
one high school for boys and none for girls. There were 12 other primary schools for boys and for
girls. There was a central
outpatient clinic for all these villages, and there was no electricity,
domestic water or telecommunication services to speak of. Farm to market roads were not paved
and were frequently rendered unusable when it rained. The construction of the dam itself
provided job opportunities for Jordanians around its site. Such towns as Burma, Jerash, Majdal,
Gaza refugee camp, Um Rumman benefited from the construction activities in
the form of direct employment, and in the form of providing logistics for
workers. It was the pioneering
construction project when law and order were reestablished in the
country. Two more years elapsed
before other projects in the country got underway. The completion of the dam coincided
with a draught winter year, 1978-1979.
The following year was a wet year and the reservoir was filled in a 36
hours storm. A similar storm
occurred the following week and the spill was equivalent to the reservoir
volume. All other storms were
practically spilled to a total of about 100 MCM. When the reservoir was filled, an ancient road alignment
was submerged. It was the road
built in the Roman times and rehabilitated and paved in the 1950's that
connected the north of Jordan with its south, the King's road. The economic and social impact of
that was minor because there was a replacement highway built to modern
specifications. The filling of the reservoir
coincided with the completion of the irrigation networks in the Jordan
Valley. Putting the land under
perennial irrigation enabled the Jordan valley Authority to apply the land
redistribution provisions of the Jordan valley Development Law of 1977. The farm land was redistributed and
the social impact of that was profound.
Small land owners had their ownerships increased and landless farmers
became land owners. There was
not enough land to distribute to all landless farmers, but the pattern of
land ownership improved to the advantage of the poorer. Irrigation water started to flow to
the new lands year around and agricultural production boomed. Land services became much easier with
the improved access to the farms through all weather roads. Agricultural inputs and the hauling
of output became much easier compared to earlier times. Exports improved because the production
of fruits and vegetables was off- season at a time when there was little
competition in the nearby markets.
Farm incomes improved drastically, and the economy of the Valley
started to take a much better shape. 4. Social
Infrastructure The development plan for the Jordan
Valley called for the construction of schools, health centers, government
buildings, streets, roads, social development centers, and agricultural
marketing centers with grading and packing facilities. It also called for the provisions of
public utilities of domestic water, electricity and telecommunication
services. That burden was
carried by the Jordan valley Authority, a government organization. The role of the private sectors was
in farming, in housing and all the economic activities. When the dam was completed, so were
the badly needed social infrastructure components in the villages of the
Jordan Valley. Schools were
built and furnished, health centers were built and equipped including a rural
hospital in the area of command of the dam. A social development center was
built and furnished. Domestic
water and electricity were provided to the villages. The electricity grid was
connected to the national grid in the Plateau. Later an advanced telecommunications network was completed and the Valley
was connected to the rest of the world through direct dialing services. The schools were staffed and they
were adequate for girls and boys at all levels of education including
vocational training centers. A
Farmers' Association was established to care for the supply of inputs and the
marketing of the produce in competition with other traders. Financing was made available by the
government for agricultural credits and for housing loans. The activities were intensified in
both fields. Drip irrigation was
introduced to the Valley and it expanded with incentives of agricultural
credit. Housing construction by
beneficiaries also boomed. The
land redistribution provisions of the law included the redistribution of
lands within planned towns and villages, and landless residents had access to
land to build their housed with credits made available by the government. New villages sprang up. They were properly planned and
provided with the infrastructure.
People responded by building houses and commercial facilities. Old villages were expanded. The number of villages increased from
8 to 12, and later the water of the dam reached four more towns to make the
dependent villages 16 in number, and the population today reached about
120,000 people between the town of Kreimeh and the town of South Shuna. The results were amazing. By 1987, the average per capita income in the Jordan Valley
matched the national per capita income of $1650. The illiteracy rate was diminishing fast and the school
enrollments matched those of the national averages. Education of women became possible under improved family
income conditions and availability of government schools nearby. The life expectancy at birth soared
from a modes 46 years in the early fifties to 72 years in 1987 for males, and
73 years for females. The role
of women expanded to cover sectors other than agriculture. Handicraft centers, home based
businesses and other employments opened up for women. When the Valley development effort
started in 1973, only one engineer had graduated from college, three lawyers,
and a limited number of university graduates and other professionals. Today, the number of university
graduates per capita has matched the national averages, and the number of
professionals has increased so much that a substantial number of them are
unemployed. A survey conducted in 1987 showed a
rate of population increase in the Valley of about 6.5% per annum. This is double the natural growth
rate. The portions of the Valley
that have witnessed higher population growth rates than others is the Middle
Jordan Valley commanded by the KTD.
The dam and the Jordan Valley development scheme succeeded in curbing
the traditional rural-urban migration pattern, arresting it and then
reversing it. The unregulated flow of the Yarmouk
provided enough winter flow to pump from the Jordan Valley to Amman. The water thus pumped is used in
municipal purposes and wastewater is produced. The wastewater flow gets treated in a plant in the
catchment of the dam, and the effluent is regulated by the dam. The blend
gets to be used for power generation and for irrigation. About 45 MCM of water is pumped to
Amman from the Jordan Valley.
This amount will be doubled by the year 2002. The wastewater generated, treated to
the standards for unrestricted uses in agriculture, will be added to the
stock of irrigation water. The
dam makes the supply to Amman possible because it would compensate for the
irrigation fresh water that is pumped for use in municipal purposes. The pumped water is thus used twice:
once in municipal purposes and another in irrigation. The non consumptive use in power
generation is also a byproduct in the cycle. The current supply is sufficient to
meet the requirements of about
half a million people living in West Amman, and the doubling of the quantity
will double the number of beneficiaries. Again, the supply is not done directly from the dam, but
the existence of the dam is crucial to the operation of the water cycle. 5. The
Role in Sustaining Existing Agriculture The diversion requirements in the dry
months from the Yarmouk increased at a time when its flow was being reduced
by the Syrian depletions upstream.
Compared to the flow of 6.5 cms in August of 1961 when the East Ghor
canal was started, the flow last August diminished to 1.95 cms, less than one
third of what it used to be. The
reductions were partly compensated for by the King Talal Dam reservoir and by
summer water that Jordan recovered from Israel under the Peace Treaty of 1994. The dam was raised and has been
impounding a maximum of 78 MCM.
The carrier canals have been extended northward to enable the water to
reach more lands planted with citrus to supply them with crucial summer
water. The surface canals have
been converted to pressure pipe networks with decent savings on the losses of
conveyance and distributions.
The summer supplies have been enhanced with the releases from Lake
Tiberias since 1995 and were increased since May 1997. However, the role of the KTD has been
crucial in sustaining the existing agriculture north of the Zarqa River. The other two factors of enhanced
efficiency and increased supplies helped also. Savings were also effected through
the use of drip irrigation methods.
Along with the new irrigation technologies, the advanced farming
technologies were introduced too.
Plastic houses became in vogue and agricultural yields increased
substantially. 6. Marketing
of the Produce The markets were receptive to the
produce and their absorption capacity was enhanced by the increasing oil
revenues. However, the
political developments in the region affected the markets. Syria and Lebanon got busy with the
civil war in Lebanon and their markets shrank. The ability of the two countries to service foreign trade
with foreign currency diminished.
The depression in oil prices reduced the absorption capacity of the
Gulf market, and competition by other producers exacerbated the export
challenge. Concurrently, Jordan
maintained an open bridge policy for imports from the West Bank, and the
market prices on the domestic market were depressed. The benefits of the Jordan Valley off
season production were receding. Then came the big blow in the
aftermath of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. The markets of the Gulf were closed to Jordanian goods and
services, and the agricultural incomes suffered substantially. A wave of about 300 thousand
Jordanians were evicted from the Gulf states and they took up residence in
Amman and Zarqa in the catchment of the KTD. There was sudden increase in
demand for municipal water and there was generation of more wastewater. The slow improvements in the
performance of the wastewater treatment plant did not help improve the
quality of the effluent, and that, too, hampered marketing possibilities in
the wake of improved relations with the Gulf states. The depressed farm incomes triggered
a chain of reactions in the market.
It affected the factories that supply agricultural inputs and farm
irrigation systems. It also
depressed the imports and the agricultural activities of the market. Coupled
with other economic difficulties, the situation contributed to a modest
growth rates in the economy, and more indebtedness of farmers to the credit
institutions. The lending
capacity of banks and credit institutions decreased, and the borrowing
ability of farmers diminished, all leading to a difficult agricultural
economy conditions. 7. Raising
of King Talal Dam Jordan realized the importance of
utilizing its share of the Yarmouk flow. By 1983, and encouraged by a booming market for the Jordan
Valley produce, the Jordan valley Authority embarked on a plan to extend
irrigated areas further. About
6000 more hectars could be brought under irrigation if only more water could
be secured in the dry months to sustain about 12% of the area that would be
planted with perennial crops. A
project was adopted to extend the King Abdallah canal to draw more water from
the Yarmouk, and to raise the King Talal dam to a new height of 106 meters
and a storage capacity of 86 MCM (78 MCM live). The dam raising was started in 1984 along with the canal
extension and both were completed in 1988 at a total cost of $90
million. By the time the project
was completed, Syria had increased its usage of the Yarmouk waters and the
operation of the Jordanian project was suspended. The dam impounded more water that was put to beneficial
uses in supplying the existing areas with badly needed water, especially
those dependent on the Yarmouk for their summer irrigation. The operation of the dam would be
enhanced with the completion of the Karama dam in the Jordan Valley. This new dam would help regulate
Yarmouk floods especially that a proper diversion structure has just been
completed on the Yarmouk at Adassiya.
The KTD would be operated in conjunction with the operation of the
Karama dam in order that enough water would be made available to irrigate the
new extension of 6000 ha. The ultimate benefits would be reached once the two
dams are operated along with the latest canal extension. 8. Importance
of the King Talal Dam It can be safely said that the King Talal dam is the most important
water structure in Jordan. In
view of the latest developments on the Yarmouk by Syria, the Jordan Valley
would have suffered a drastic set back had it not been for the role of the
KTD. It can reach the farm land
of a total area of 17000 ha if and when needed. This is important to protect the perennial crops in these
lands from being lost because of the lack of summer water. The dam is supporting the livelihood
of about 120000 people living in the Jordan Valley. Its role and the role of the Jordan valley development was
pivotal in curbing the rural-urban migration pattern, and in reversing it. |
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