Two arrested for ‘emptying sewage tanker next to well’

AMMAN — Two people have been arrested in Maan Governorate for emptying a sewage tanker beside a well that supplies water to thousands of people, an official said on Tuesday.

The well is located in Ayl municipality, where the Ministry of Water and Irrigation is implementing several projects to explore new water resources and renovate the network to reduce water disruption, improve supply and reduce water loss, according to the official.

“This is a grave violation on a main water resource that supplies thousands of people in Ayl and adjacent towns with fresh water,” the ministry official, who preferred to remain unnamed, told The Jordan Times.

Authorities arrested the driver and owner of the sewage tanker, he said, noting that Maan’s general prosecutor is investigating the case, which was recorded after authorities were tipped off about the violation.

“Article 30 of the Water Authority of Jordan Law stipulates that anyone who pollutes a well or a spring designated for drinking purposes is jailed one to five years and fined JD2,000 to JD7,000,” the official noted.

Following the violation, Minister of Water and Irrigation Hazem Nasser ordered the forming of a committee of senior ministry officials to reassess the efficiency of the ministry’s employees who are tasked with guarding and inspecting wells across the country.

In a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times, the ministry called on people to cooperate and report violations on water networks and resources by contacting its free-of-charge emergency number 117 116.

The official indicated that, as the ministry presses ahead with its national campaign to end illegal use of water, its teams have stopped dozens of violations on water networks and resources thanks to reports from members of the public.

As the national crackdown on violations on water resources and networks enters its fourth year, the campaign, started in 2013, has seen the retrieval of millions of cubic metres of stolen water and the prevention of the drilling of illegal wells, according to the ministry, whose recent figures indicated that, until May, over 30,000 violations on water mains and resources have been prevented.

Since over 17 teams started continuous checks on water resources and networks across the country, authorities have sealed 890 illegal wells and seized 51 drilling rigs which were being used for illegal activities, the ministry added.