Utilizing Technology for Assessing Water Losses at King Abdullah Canal: A CLA Approach

WMI (Water Management Initiative) is a five-year USAID initiative implemented by Tetra Tech. WMI’s purpose is to support the Government of Jordan (GOJ) to achieve measurable improvement and greater sustainability of the water sector by providing technical assistance to strengthen the GOJ’s reform, policy development and implementation, and capacity-building efforts.

The Jordan Valley Authority (JVA) and WMI are on the path to develop an effective water management strategy for the King Abdullah Canal, the concrete, 110 km waterway that transports 180 million cubic meters of water annually for irrigation in the Jordan Valley while also conveying large portions of drinking water to Amman. To create such a strategy, a detailed quantitative assessment of the water losses is needed. Reliable estimates of quantities and extent of losses from the KAC are critical to increasing conveyance efficiency and avoiding unnecessary losses and any physical or environmental damages that might occur. Following consultations between WMI and JVA, it was agreed to conduct a discharge measurement program, and estimation of the physical, illegal and evaporation losses from the KAC canal. The initial phase of the measurement program took place between 3-12 July, 2017.

WMI’s team worked in close collaboration with the JVA and international technical experts to figure out how to deploy existing technology in a uniquely challenging environment, in line with international best practices. WMI deployed a highly technical and evidence-based CLA methodology at every step of the process. Ultimately, WMI’s team succeeded in measuring water losses in a dynamic canal for the first time ever, providing stakeholders in Jordan’s water sector with information that will inform evidence-based planning and decision making.