PI: Mo'ayyad Shawaqfah, Al al-Bayt University

Providing a secure water future for Jordan in the face of rapid population growth and decreasing availability of water will require innovative progress in all aspects of water resource management, including the identification of underutilized resources. Ability to improve the efficiency of measures to deal with floodwaters, particularly in a low cost fashion, has the potential to rapidly advance this important development challenge for Jordan and the rest of the Middle East.

 

This project will investigate holistic management of floodwaters in Jordan to better understand how this natural hazard can instead be viewed as a valuable natural resource. It will bring to bear the relevant experience of the US partner, who has collaborated with the Jordanian principal investigator on similar previous projects in both Jordan and Turkey. A combination of modeling exercises and field observations will be used to advance the application of knowledge for this critical issue. Successful completion of this project should yield scientific advancements, provide training for Jordanian and American students and researchers, and result in new models to inform water resource managers in this region, where water is so vital to peace and security. This project will assist Al al-Bayt University in its efforts to build its water resources research and outreach capabilities. A broader training component is also included, with approximately 100 water resources professionals expected to benefit from planned outreach and dissemination activities.

 

 

One highlight of activities in the first quarter of 2013 was a short course on watershed management and flood assessment that was held over a four-day period in March. The five students, four faculty members, and three research staff dealt with the theory and modeling of hydrology aspects and hydraulics principles, and they watched a demonstration using hydraulic structures, reservoirs, pump stations, and various types of control gates. Representatives of the U.S. Geological Survey and USAID also made a site visit to the project. In addition to their ongoing field work, the research team’s plans for the coming months include organizing workshops with water professionals, building their own groundwater model, and making a visit to the U.S. partner’s lab in New Mexico to engage in more modeling exercises.