Shifting waters: the challenges of transitioning from freshwater to treated wastewater irrigation in the northern Jordan Valley
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Jordan’s water scarcity prompted a national plan whereby treated wastewater is utilized to
amend agricultural irrigation water so as to reallocate freshwater to urban/domestic uses. The policy,
however, has engendered farmers’ resistance in the Northern Jordan Valley (NJV), causing a stalemate
in putting new infrastructure into operation. This research investigated the socio-economic causes
of farmer resistance and contestation, and examined the government’s institutional approach to
overcome the challenges. We found that the perceived risks of wastewater reuse such as salinization
and restrictions from international markets figure prominently in the farmers resistance. As yet,
farmers have managed to avoid the shift to treated wastewater use by using the political agency of
elite farmers who control the Water Users Associations. These same farmers have adopted informal
water access practices to overcome freshwater shortages. At the same time, small producers who
don’t have possibilities to access extra water and with less political clout seem more willing to irrigate
with treated wastewater. We conclude that understanding the heterogeneous context in which the
envisioned wastewater users operate is key to predicting and solving conflicts that arise in treated
wastewater reuse projects.
Palabras clave
wastewater irrigation, water reuse, water allocation, freshwater, irrigation water, infrastructure, water management, urban areas, water scarcity, water policies, stakeholders, water user associations, farmers, socioeconomic aspects