The Disi Water Conveyance Project is a water supply project in Jordan. It is designed to pump 100,000,000 cubic metres (2.2×1010 imp gal) of water per year from the Disi aquifer,[1] which lies beneath the desert in southern Jordan and northwestern Saudi Arabia. The water is piped to the capital, Amman, and other cities to meet increased demand. Construction began in 2009 and was mostly completed in July 2013 when the project was inaugurated by King Abdullah of Jordan.[2] Its total cost was US$1.1 billion.
An independent study revealed the water to be radioactive and potentially dangerous to drink, initially surrounding the project with controversy.[1][3] Jordan's Ministry of Water and Irrigation has stated that the radioactivity is not a problem because the water is to be diluted with an equal amount of water from other sources, although it remains disputed if this would be enough to bring the water up to standards.[1] The Ministry said the independent study was inaccurate, as it did not test water from any of the wells that will be used in the project.[4] The President of the Jordanian Geologists Association Bahjat Al Adwan stated that the radiation is present in the water in the form of radon, and thus dissipates harmlessly when the water is exposed to air on the surface.[5]
- ^ a b c Upson, Sandra (August 2009). "Jordan's radioactive water problem". Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Spectrum. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Inaugurationwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Vengosh, Avner; Hirschfeld, Daniella; Vinson, David; et al. (15 March 2009). "High Naturally Occurring Radioactivity in Fossil Groundwater from the Middle East". Environmental Science & Technology. 43 (6): 1769–75. Bibcode:2009EnST...43.1769V. doi:10.1021/es802969r. PMID 19368170.
- ^ Namrouqa, Hana (3 March 2009). "Disi project will go ahead despite radiation allegations". Jordan Times. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
- ^ Numan, Abeer (18 May 2011). "Disi water uncontaminated". The Jordan Times. Retrieved 30 May 2011.