$129M combined funding from international partners
A powerful team consisting of Jordanian ministries, CDM Smith, local utilities, and international agencies united to deliver this project.
Client
Water Authority of Jordan
Location
Northern Shuneh, Jordan
Markets
Delivering global expertise to one of the world’s driest regions
In November 2020, King Abdullah II inaugurated the $129 million Wadi Al Arab Water System II, a marvel of modern ingenuity and international collaboration. The new water treatment plant in the Jordan Valley takes water from the King Abdullah Canal, treats it to international standards for quality and delivers it to a surging populace. The canal, vulnerable to seasonal episodes of extreme turbidity, coliform bacteria levels, nematodes, organic carbon and high levels of bromide, is the only locally available source of raw water with adequate capacity. To make matters worse, a lack of vegetated buffers has prevented filtering of contaminants from agricultural and urban runoff. What one of our experts called “one of the most difficult sources of water to treat that I’ve seen” is now being safely tapped to provide drinking water to a growing population.
One million people gaining access to clean drinking water
With Jordan’s population growing as refugees fled conflict in neighboring countries, this project provided crucial public health improvements.