Syria started Saturday, July 14, to pump water to Jordan in an attempt to meet increased domestic demand in the Hashemite kingdom.
In line with an agreement signed by the two countries in 1999, Syria will provide Jordan two million cubic meters (70 million cubic feet) over two months, at a rate of 33,000 cubic meters (1.16 million cubic feet) a day.
Syria's move is meant to assist its neighbor, which has been hit by water shortages for five years.
The water is drawn from the southwestern Syrian Sahm Al-Golan dam, 135 kilometers (83 miles) from Damascus, into a station near Amman, via the Yarmuk river.
Over the last two years, Syria, which also suffers from severe water shortages, has provided eight million cubic meters (280 million cubic feet) of drinking water a year to Jordan. — (AFP, Daraa)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
