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The Disi Water Conveyance Project is a water supply project in Jordan. It is designed to pump of water per year from the Disi aquifer,〔 which lies beneath the desert in southern Jordan and northwestern Saudi Arabia. The water is piped to the capital, Amman, and other cities to meet increased demand. Construction began in 2009 and was mostly completed in July 2013 when the project was inaugurated by King Abdullah of Jordan.〔 Its total cost was USD 1.1 billion. An independent study revealed the water to be radioactive and potentially dangerous to drink, surrounding the project with controversy. Jordan's Ministry of Water and Irrigation has stated that the radioactivity is not a problem because the water is to be diluted with an equal amount of water from other sources, although it remains disputed if this would be enough to bring the water up to standards.〔 The Ministry said the independent study was inaccurate, as it did not test water from any of the wells that will be used in the project. The President of the Jordanian Geologists Association Bahjat Al Adwan stated that the radiation is present in the water in the form of Radon, and thus dissipates harmlessly when the water is exposed to air on the surface. ==Background== The water in the Disi aquifer gathered 30,000 years ago during the Pleistocene era. It is long and located below ground inside of porous sandstone. The aquifer is classified as a fossil aquifer, meaning that the water is not replenished if it is removed. In fact, the aquifer has a recharge rate of of water per year. This recharge is dwarfed, however, by the current extraction rate of for agricultural and domestic needs, including of water that is supplied to Aqaba, Jordan.〔Page 68: 〕 The current extraction rate of , coupled with the future extraction rate of for the project,〔 is expected to produce a total extraction rate of . At that rate, the water in the aquifer will last a minimum of 50 years, according to the Disi Water Company. Only a small portion of the Disi aquifer lies beneath Jordan, while the majority lies beneath Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia also extracts water from the aquifer (called the Saq aquifer in Saudi Arabia). The aquifer has created controversy between Saudi Arabia and Jordan, with each country demanding the other to use less of the shared water. There is no formal agreement between the countries regarding the water and the Disi Water Conveyance Project is being constructed without Saudi consultation or involvement.〔 Non-revenue water is a serious problem in Amman. Currently, 40% of water in Amman is lost as non-revenue water. The city rations water, with individual residents averaging 36 hours of water access weekly. If the non-revenue water problem remains, it is possible that a large portion of the water provided by the Disi Water Conveyance project will also be lost as it is piped through Amman. The Disi Water Conveyance project was first proposed in the 1990s, but was initially regarded as too expensive. A feasibility study was completed in 1996.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.swecogroup.com/en/Sweco-group/Solutions/Water-and-environment/Water-and-Wastewater/Water-and-wastewater-projects-in-Jordan1/ )〕 But it was not until 2007 that the Jordanian Government was able to contract a firm to begin construction. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Disi Water Conveyance Project」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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