Water utilities in Jordan address climate change

A training workshop in Jordan showed how water and wastewater utilities can become leaders in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Representatives from water and wastewater companies in Jordan started the year with a training workshop that transferred knowledge and has built capacity on how water and wastewater utilities can address climate change. The water sector has the potential to become a leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) through energy efficiency, renewable energy production and recovery of nutrients. The training was organised by the project WaCCliM (Water and Wastewater Companies for Climate Mitigation). It focused on modelling hydraulic systems and assessing the climate and energy performance of water and wastewater utilities.

The water sector is increasingly being impacted by climate change. At the same time, it contributes up to 10 percent of global carbon emissions. Jordan is the world ́s third most water-scarce country. Energy consumption accounts for around 83 percent of Jordan’s national emissions and 15 % of these are attributed to the water sector. Water pumping is responsible for the majority of this consumption and is estimated to increase twofold by 2030. Jordan is therefore facing a long-term need to reduce its water and energy consumption.

The training workshop, hosted by the Water, Energy and Environment (WEE) Center at the University of Jordan in Amman from 23 to 26 January 2017, aimed to strengthen capacity building, and to support the application of technical tools, in the field of climate change mitigation and carbon footprint reduction in water and wastewater utilities. It was held in partnership with the Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ), the Jordan Water Company Miyahuna, and the WEE center from the University of Jordan.

16 participants learned about modelling hydraulic systems and assessing GHG emissions of water and wastewater utilities using the Energy Performance and Carbon emissions Assessment and Monitoring (ECAM) tool. ECAM was developed by WaCCliM, and is an innovative tool for quantifying GHGs in water and wastewater utilities. It identifies areas of improvement within the urban water cycle and is unique using the holistic approach. Linking water and climate to reduce GHG emissions in the water sector and how utilities access climate finance have been also discussed. Trainers from the International Water Association (IWA) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH facilitated the workshop. 

The training allowed participants to sharpen their approach towards hydraulic models to better describe water and wastewater systems in Jordan. The knowledge acquired during the workshop enhances the overall understanding of GHG emissions, highlighted opportunities to reduce emissions within water and wastewater systems, as well as measures and procedures that improve the carbon balance of utilities. The International Climate Initiative (IKI) funds the WaCCliM project since the end of 2013.