Zarqa River - Environmental Concerns

Environmental Concerns

The Zarqa river is highly polluted. In many areas, raw sewage flows untreated directly into the river through dry riverbeds (wadis), contaminating it and creating a stench which has been a cause of numerous complaints, particularly during the summer months. Though sewage treatment stations have been built in a couple of locations (including Ain Ghazal and Khirbet As Samara), these stations often receive more water than they can handle. Such overflow occurs during winter floods, as well as during summer months when the population increases with the return of migrant workers to Amman. During overflow, untreated water runs directly to the Zarqa river. As a result, the Zarqa's water is brownish colored, often with dense foam due to large amounts of organic matter. Other sources of pollutants are the illegal dumping of industrial waste, including those from textile factories, and batteries and oils from garages.

The river's watershed encompasses the most densely populated areas east of the Jordan River, and it flows through an industrialized area that is home to more than 52% of Jordan's industrial plants, including the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company. During the summer months, treated domestic and industrial waste-water compose nearly all of the flow, and substantially degrade the water quality. Coupled with over-extraction of water from the underground aquifer and the naturally low base flow of the Zarqa, this has created a major problem, described as one of Jordan's "environmental black spots". and has made rehabilitation of the Zarqa a top priority for the Jordanian Ministry of the Environment. The restoration project is estimated to cost $30 million dollars.