Situated in the Middle East, Jordan is one of the 10 most water-deprived countries in the world. While the average U.S. citizen has more than 2,377,500 gallons of fresh water available per year, the average Jordanian has around 53,000 gallons per year. Natural population growth combined with periodic influxes of refugees has put a tremendous strain on the limited water resources in the arid, mostly landlocked country.
In addition to developing costly new water sources and decreasing consumption, Jordan is focusing on improving the management and efficiency of existing water infrastructure sources. In 2006, as part of the country’s water sector reform initiative, a consultant contract was awarded to Severn Trent Services International (STS International) to improve efficiency and performance in the northern governorates of Jordan, which encompass four of the 12 governorates comprising more than 35,000 square miles of land and 1.6 million people.
As part of the project, STS International worked closely with stakeholders such as the joint funding agencies, Water Authority of Jordan and Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau; the local partner, Consulting Engineering Center; and the Northern Governorates Water Administration (NGWA). STS International deployed a number of skilled employees to the team including seven long-term staff as well as short term staffing assistance from 12 water sector experts. Their assistance has proven to be invaluable in managing and controlling the contract.
The initial 12-month diagnostic phase began in April 2006, and resulted in a detailed analysis of the existing water supply infrastructure and organization in the NGWA. From this investigation, some 20 major plans were compiled, including:
- Five-year and Annual Business Plans, which sets out how NGWA would be organized and set performance targets for the organization.
- Commercial Management Plan, which addresses financial management and improvements to commercial efficiency.
- Energy Management Plan, which analyzes how to reduce NGWA’s energy costs.
- Human Resources Plan, including restructuring proposals for NGWA and a revised staff incentive program.
- Non-Revenue Water (NRW) Plan, which highlights the strategy and tools required to reduce non-revenue water from its current level of 44% to the target of 36% by 2010. This will be achieved through an increase in water mains rehabilitation and the implementation of a proactive leak detection strategy via dedicated leakage detection teams.
- Dry Season Management Plan: Jordan is heavily reliant on groundwater sources for water which are frequently susceptible to shortages. A Dry Season Management Plan was created and put into action with three levels of warning from “watch” yellow alert, through to “emergency” red alert. At each stage, progressively restrictive activities to preserve water supply and to reduce demand are applied. The basis of the dry season management plan was already in existence at NGWA, but STS International was able to organise and formalise this into a cohesive plan to improve forecasting accuracy and implementation.
The management contract has shown that the private sector can work effectively in partnership with the public sector to offer effective solutions to improve water services. All of this early work has paved the way for the second phase of the contract – the implementation stage – which is taking place between mid-2007 and 2009.
Lloyd Martin, Regional Director of STS International will be presenting a case study on the NGWA managing consultant contract at the Saudi Water and Power show. The presentation will describe the work that has been carried out to date by STSI in Jordan and reveal the results that have been achieved – in particular the NRW and Dry Season Management Plan.
The Saudi Water and Power Forum 2007 takes place in Jeddah from November 3 through 6 and will give delegates the opportunity to understand how the water sector reform taking place in Jordan is unfolding.
For more information, e-mail info@severntrentservices.com.
[ x ] Close Window