In Jordan, water is never a side issue, but the starting point upon which any project must stand. This is what makes Amra City an important planning test on Jordan’s ability to design new urban spaces and new cities that understand the country’s water reality from the beginning of the planning process.

 

The growing population, changing climate and increasing industrial and commercial demand have made water management one of the Kingdom’s defining challenges. Any new city must therefore be designed around efficiency from the beginning.

 

Amra City offers a rare chance to plan water management in all its components. If planned carefully, Amra City can become a model for integrated water management: a city where supply, recycling, wastewater treatment, rainwater harvesting, efficient networks and modern loss reduction techniques become one coherent system.

 

The discussion of possible water sources feeding the city, including the National Water Carrier, Disi water, supplementary sources, groundwater, rainwater harvesting and nearby dams, points to an important principle of diversification. In a dry country, water security comes from combining sources, protecting them and using every cubic metre wisely.

 

The expected additional water from the National Water Carrier gives Amra City an advantage that older urban centres did not have when they expanded. But this advantage should not be misunderstood as permission to consume without limits and this does not only apply to Amra City but across the country.

 

The fact that Jordan embarked on a historical water project should raise our water planning standard. If the carrier is Jordan’s major answer to comfortable supply, Amra City should become part of Jordan’s answer to demand management.

 

This requires a fresh mindset: water distribution to Amra City, or to any other new urban centre for that matter, should be judged not only by how much water can be secured, but by how little can be wasted. The city should set clear targets for recycling, safe reuse and efficient allocation. Potable water should not be used where treated or recycled water can do the job, and this principle should be embedded in long-term planning.

 

Greywater and blackwater management must also be part of the design from day one. Wastewater should not be viewed only as something to remove. In a water-scarce country, it is a resource to recover. In Jordan, this approach has already been applied in many spaces and projects, but for a city of the scale of Amra City, this requires regulation, reliable treatment standards and infrastructure that makes water reuse safe, controlled and acceptable to build public trust.

 

The same logic applies to water and wastewater networks. Jordan has allocated fat budgets over the years to rehabilitate ageing systems and reduce water loss. Amra City should not inherit the weaknesses of older water networks

 

Urban planning must also follow wise water use. Green spaces and public landscaping should rely on native and drought-tolerant plants, not imported aesthetics from wetter climates. Rainwater harvesting should be built into streets, rooftops and public facilities. Buildings should meet water-efficiency standards and adhere to green building codes to minimize energy consumption and preserve water.

 

The recent meeting between experts, the private sector and local communities to discuss the water component of the Amra city is a step in the right direction to water planning.

 

If Amra City places efficiency, recycling and loss reduction at the heart of its design, it can offer Jordan an urban growth model that does not deepen the water crisis, but helps manage it.

 

 

Hana Namrouqa is the Deputy Chief Editor of The Jordan Times