Abstract:

This research will investigate the holistic management of water resources in Jordan to understand better how this natural hazard could be determined as a valuable natural resource instead of losing the flood water in one of the poorest countries in water resources worldwide. The groundwater resources in the study area used to be depleted by the overpumping for domestic and irrigation uses, drastically affecting the ecosystem and the water system in the targeted basin. The limited groundwater amounts within the targeted area are attributed to the lack of natural recharge through the surface during the floods. Surface water models will be used in order to estimate the surface runoff. A groundwater model for the study area will be used to evaluate the effect of flood water on groundwater recharge using the existing volcanic outcropped rocks. The results are expected to highlight the importance of storing flood water and artificially recharging it for groundwater.  Holistic water resources management is valid for modeling water in desert climates. Nowhere is this apparent in Jordan, which is a nation facing sparse water availability and rapid population growth. The water issue will be one of the most severe challenges to Jordan's future economic growth, the population in the country is expected to double by 2029. Further, water availability is expected to be halved in this same duration as groundwater resources are consumed. However, addressing Jordan's forecasted water resources defects will demand innovation, leadership, and holistic management of this precious resource.  Water resources scientists have usually considered floodwaters a natural hazard to be controlled or eliminated rather than a potential resource; this is particularly true in small and dry basins with few or no perennial streams but should not be treated the same in one of the poorest countries in water resources such the recent case.​