Evaluation of non-conventional water resources supply in Jordan

The severity of the water problem in Jordan was realized in the beginning of the 1980s. Many strategies and measures were proposed to alleviate and overcome this serious problem. These mainly include supply augmentation measures through constructing of various hydraulic structures and groundwater exploitation. In addressing supply management, it was concluded that no single supply could remedy the nation's water shortage. Rather many integrated actions are needed to ensure water availability, suitability, and sustainability. Among those options is the development of new water resources such as brackish water. It was proposed that desalinated brackish water could increase water supply in different regions of the country. This paper describes the development of a decision-support system for the evaluation and selection of potential non-conventional water resources supply; these include desalination of brackish and seawater, treated waste wafer, importation of water across boundaries and water harvesting. Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), it was concluded that water desalination was ranked the highest, i.e., the most promising resource, followed by water harvesting.